Femmes Against Extinction
by Misty Legionnaire
Summary: A what if for the AoE movie. What if women across the globe rose up in defense of the Autobots after Chicago since the male politicians failed to protect the US by listening to Sentinel. Told from OC and Ratchet's POV.
1. Chapter 1

The politicians refused to hear beyond the words of "Sentinel Prime" and cost Chicago and it's citizens greatly.

In the aftermath, their group formed, initially in gratitude of the Autobots and humans who lead NEST. They grew with those looking to show their strength in light of the destruction and death to the ones who fought. The soldiers, never the two-faced lying politicians.

Then the first video surfaced.

A known Autobot being gunned down coldly by humans.

The government wasn't fast enough to strip the video from the internet.

Certainly not fast enough to stop them from forming a group who the monsters could never face. Not against their unity.

For centuries, their gender was underestimated and thought weak.

Until they declared war against the men of Cemetery Wind.

* * *

"Ghost in position," Janet murmured, her masculine voice once a joke to everyone.

Now it was the voice of command.

"Beamrider, circling," Ghost's SIC whispered in a sing song voice more suited to a choir teacher than a deadly drone commander.

Ghost knew the drones were airborne, but camouflaged for the night sky, and invisible to human sight.

A bedroom sigh passed out of her ear piece, "Shiva stretching."

Shiva drove the modified military vehicle as their muscle or shield. She'd get between the Winds and their target.

"Dum, Dee," Twin voices grinned.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee were both motorbikes types. Laying caltrops, smoke, oil, or firing close range into the enemy.

Toolchest sneered, "Give me someone to smash in."

Their designated medic and explosives expert, Toolchest was the shortest of them all. Yet also the most terrifying in a sedan type vehicle.

Ghost sat a few blocks down from their protection target.

Cybercat, the hacker commander of their unit and six others had tracked Wind movement to this location.

"Windy conditions ahead," Beamrider sang.

The video feed filled Ghost's dash.

The men of Cemetery Wind crept on a river boat, looking as hunters after Autobot prey.

"Wind funnels needed tonight," Ghost ordered, starting her electric engine silently.

Praying to the restless dead playing with her nape, Ghost began to ease forward. To defend her world from the evil in men.

* * *

Ratchet could sense the closing humans, worry dismissed as he readied to run.

Were these the ones Optimus warned of?

Missing Maggie, Mikeala, Sam, Epps, and Lennox, he wondered if he should have let Sentinel offline him with Ironhide.

Then he had nothing on his processors but minimizing the damage as sabot rounds and others were used against him.

He fell to the second floor of the boat, rolling out the flames as he dodged the next volley by leaping through the side and onto the dock.

He raced, zigging and zagging, his processors working to dodge the rockets and bullets.

Then two motorbikes raced up his backside, smoke billowing out along with war whoops. Ratchet thought for a moment it was Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.

It couldn't be though. They wouldn't the here to save him, not with such tiny vehicle forms.

Then a bulky hummer swung behind him, blocking hits from the enemy humans.

He saw the human femme driver glancing at her side mirrors, the headdress, Indian in style, oddly fitting with her features and skin dripped with beads and embellishments.

Then her face turned feral before she twisted the wheel, striking an enemy jeep, forcing it into the river.

What?

A moving truck raced up, pulled ahead, slid over to take the front.

A ramp descended, the door rose.

Just enough space to enter and let the door close around him.

They couldn't be thinking. No, they had to be.

A helicopter broke the smoke, firing into the shield femme.

Only for four blurs to mob it and bring it down in a fiery explosion.

He rode up the ramp, braking smoothly.

The door closed and he felt the ramp retract under the floor beneath his wheels.

His scanners tracked the battle through the flimsy shelter he sat in.

Internal medical processes worked on his wounds, sealing leaks, patching damaged cables as the group surrounding him broke free of the enemies, racing into the night.

He focused on the encrypted communication, easily breaking it.

"Ghost riding moonlight."

The surprisingly deep voice came from the front of the transport vehicle driving him.

Coming from the shield vehicle a voice replied, "None can stand before Shiva."

"Beamrider and lasers flashing," he tracked the new voice to a distant vehicle paralleling them.

With a horrible realization, every one of the drivers had one thing in coming.

All femmes.

Human femmes protected him from blood thirsty mechs. His tanks dropped as more femme voices joined the channel, their words incomprehensible but clearly code phrases.


	2. Chapter 2

Ghost led them to their pick up point, her senses alive for ambush.

The dead said nothing, at ease with the situation.

Glancing at the video feed in the back, she noted tendrils extended from her protection target, repairing the external wounds, sealing so he lost no more energon.

The jar she had in the glove box wouldn't be a lot for him, but she knew it would help.

Once she was on the ship.

The barge softly glided from the river, coming to a stop at the dock, extending the reinforced boarding plank.

Ghost pulled in, then swung around a storage crate to pull into the hide, two storage crates modified to be one unit and allow a Cybertronian of Ratchet's height to stand. Braking so her nose nearly touched the wall, she opened her window, gestured to the load crew.

They sealed the crate, locking the doors into place. She opened the back of her vehicle, allowing Ratchet to exit if he so desired. She unbuckled, opened the glove box, gingerly picked up the jar of refined energon, then exited her vehicle. Moving silently, she paused beside the open back.

"I am Ghost. I have some energon if that would help you, CMO Ratchet, sir."

He backed out slowly, rolled to flat area, but didn't transform.

"Why are you helping me, human?" he snapped coldly.

She pulled off her skull painted mask, looked at him calmly, "Jazz adjusted his fall to crush me and not my children. They died in Chicago. They had seven more years than they would have each, if Jazz hadn't made a final choice to save many at the cost of one," the dead whispered to her, so she knelt, bracing so her bad leg didn't give, "I owe Optimus Prime and his mechs fourteen years of service or until my death to save two."

* * *

Ratchet couldn't process what was happening.

Her words, her actions, all pulled from old traditions of his people. Not hers.

Healed burns disfigured her face, pink against her dark brown skin, but it made her eyes blaze with the fire in her soul. The conviction to honor Jazz by offering her services to his leader and his team.

The jar of energon beckoned, so he scanned it.

Then scanned again, making Ghost shiver.

Pure. The last time he had pure energon was back on Cybertron during the golden age. Now he knew where it came from, he felt sick knowing a sun gave it's life to fill his tanks.

"How do you have that energon?" he asked.

"The government didn't secure the core machinery from the collector. Several of the tech inclined figured out how to make passive solar collectors. It takes weeks to make a jar this size, but can be done from a single roof top solar farm. We have many farms working."

Ratchet transformed slowly, both not to alarm her and to avoid reopening new welds.

He considered her, "Who are you? Why would you help us when humans hunt us?"

"I am Ghost, Hide-Specialist of the Furies. We help you for many reasons: Gratitude, love, unity, strength, hope, and above all the future. We are your allies when all others forget. We will never abandon you. We will scream our rage at those who do until they bend or break."

Her black eyes said she believed that to her core. She would die to protect him. Fight her own kind to ensure his survival.

"Optimus Prime would need to accept your oath to make it binding," he said softly, his scanners picking up the other femmes of the team in containers nearby.

She nodded, "The dead said to expect that."

Considering her as she replaced her form fitted mask, he scanned her deeply.

No obvious medical explanations for her statement, but he couldn't disavow her having a connection to the dead.

He'd seen his own kind with such gifts.

She offered the jar, "If you need more energon, we can ensure more is ready at the safe house."

He took the jar, connecting it to his reserve tank, "I would appreciate having my tanks full. Can sixty of these jars be made available?"

She bowed her head, "I will start the chain."

Stiffly, she stood, her weakened leg nearly giving, but she ignored it, walking back to the front of her vehicle.

She switched frequencies, added a new encryption, also easily broken by him, before saying, "The children at Orphanage Nurse needs sixty meals. Can we count on your assistance?"

A voice he recognized and longed for replied, "We have shipments on the way for eighty along with toys. We look forward to the smiles of the children."

Maggie. His spark pulsed as he realized she'd never left them. This ally had laid a foundation of a new support. Not all humans were against them.


	3. Chapter 3

Ghost switched back to her normal channel, the barge chugging up river with it's precious cargo.

There was scratching, like a nail file on nails, "Those barbarians chipped a nail. Shiva is displeased."

Ghost smiled at Beamrider's reply, "Imagine the doom they'd have with two nails."

"Shiva would detach their heads from their shoulders and use them for slippers," Shiva sneered.

"We could go," Dee and Dum chimed in, "You owe them for the scratched paint."

Shiva snarled, "They scratched Shiva's lovely carriage? Shiva will slay them all."

Ghost whispered, "Store that for next tiff. The dead will welcome more of their slayers to the realm beyond the river."

Her team settled, going to standard watch. Toolchest and herself took first.

The barge would be slow, yet not so easily tracked, especially since Cybercat had sent cargo planes as the fake out.

The Winds would falter and fade against the maze.

Ghost rubbed her leg, trying to ease the growing pain. She hadn't healed well from Jazz's weight on her body. The leg being only one of the pains she lived with. Her replaced hips acted up as well.

The door opened, her knife bared and swinging the next instant, not expecting anyone to open her vehicle.

The strike passed through the man standing there, as if he stood as her namesake.

Ratchet's voice mirrored the mouth of the ghost, "You are in pain. Let me see to it."

Ghost frowned, sheathing the blade, realizing he activated his holoform, "The pain is an old one. You need not worry on me, CMO."

"Consider it using supplies on my allies," he replied, then rolled up her pants leg.

She flinched. No one save the doctors who operated on her had seen the damage to either leg.

Shame fought with her duty to serve the Autobots.

"For backwards quacks they did a decent job," Ratchet placed his holoform hands on her knee, a buzz vibrating through her, "Missed a few connections that needed reinforcement."

"That was the physical therapist's assessment as well," she replied.

Toolchest growled though the earpiece, "You didn't tell me you had problems, Ghost."

Ghost looked aside, "My apologies, Toolchest."

She winced, then looked down.

Ratchet pulled his holoform hands away, "That should reduce the pain, though I recommend no marathons or running for longer than ten minutes."

For the first time in years, the pain in her weakened leg eased and faded.

He rolled her pants back down.

"Your assistance is appreciated, CMO," she replied, ensuring Toolchest didn't storm over.

Toolchest grumbled, "Ghost, you need to take care of yourself first. Leaders are few and far between who I will stand."

"Acknowledged, Toolchest."

Ratchet folded his arms across his chest, frowning, "Any others I need to review?"

"Toolchest sees to them, but if you wish, once we arrive you can freely move among them," Ghost replied calmly.

Toolchest snorted, echoing Ratchet, "Damn right. I welcome new skills though, professional to professional."

"I need rest. I suggest you do as well," Ratchet glowered at her.

"Once my round is done," Ghost bowed her head politely.

He closed the door, harrumphed, stalked away, "As stubborn as femme commanders."

His holoform dissolved in the side mirror.

Pulling out the blanket, Ghost waited out her watch.

* * *

Ratchet sat in mech form, finishing the minor repairs on his armor.

This group felt like the team he was part of. Tight knit, professional and stubborn.

Ghost reminded him of Prime after a few of the earlier battles. Not yet jaded, but still hopeful.

Why did he get stuck with the new leaders so often? He wasn't a trainer, not like Ironhide.

Offlining his optics briefly, he mourned Ironhide. Mourned for Jazz. His team had been steadily ripped apart since coming to this organic world.

He nearly lost his spark to the human mechs. If these femmes hadn't swept in like Autobot Seekers, he'd have succumbed to the humans.

Humans that should be siding with them.

Since Sentinel's turncoat, as the humans called it, all Cybertronians were viewed as dangerous and evil.

Autobots helped defeat the Decepticons and should have been safe.

Not so in the shadows of humanity.

Prime warned them to hide, to distrust humans. Yet here this team of femmes showed what humanity could accomplish with hope.

Human mechs talked down femmes. He suspected the Furies would show the mechs to fear their gender counterparts. That the femmes can be as honorable and vicious.

Ratchet wished he had company from his kind. He could at least talk with them, compare impressions.

But the signal lines were silent as a scrapyard.

Was he alone? Had those malicious mechs ended all the Autobots on Earth?

Ghost slept in her vehicle, her vents...breaths even, as she rested.

He hadn't had to yell at her to recharge like he had Optimus on many occasions.

She knew her limitations.

He looked at the back of the cargo container they had secure themselves in.

How many times did he hide to escape the enemy? Thousands? Millions? Or had it gotten to billions?

Jazz would have made a flippant reply to that thought, maybe add a song.

Something brushed his armor, his spark pulsing as if a friendly touched his shoulder.

Then thrashing made him turn, hearing Ghost wake.

Her panting preceded her stating, "All eyes. The dead are restless."

He listened to the two on watch, Beamrider and Dum report nothing.

The others woke, Toolchest growling.

He did a passive scan, just in case something waited out there.

The barge chugged, the loading crew going about as if nothing was wrong.

"Listen, lover," Ratchet could swear Jazz chortled in his audial.

Ratchet knelt, preparing to run as he filtered the various noises for threats.

"The dead say to run," Ghost whispered, "The Winds of death rise."

He heard drones rise into the air, begin circling as engines started.

The loaders opened the container, gestured him back, pointing to Ghost's vehicle.

He transformed, reversed into the vehicle, allowing Ghost to close the door, retract the ramp.

Ghost spoke softly, "Winds have an ally," her tone taking on a distant tone, "He seeks the rebels for those that think themselves masters. The Furies scream defiance."

"Shiva will show them death. No one disturbs Shiva's sleep."

The vehicle reversed out, rolled down the boarding ramp and onto a road.

Ratchet heard the drones overhead scouting ahead.

Ghost gave soft commands, the code phrases meaningless to him.

The vehicles moved in a formation, driving back roads, moving towards the safe house.

"Abort," Ghost slowed turned onto another road swiftly.

"The dead saying something?" Toolchest demanded.

"The Winds have torn the house off it's foundation. Solo chain."

He sensed them switched to another frequency and different encryption. He cracked it.

"They rush ahead?" Beamrider asked.

"They need the leader. They want to use the healer," Ghost growled, "The dead say they will kill more in their ignorance. We need to to reroute."

"To where?" Beamrider sighed, "Have Furies turned against each other?"

"No. They are fighting the Winds," Ghost smiled, "They will win, but it would be difficult to hide Bones in the movement."

Ratchet entered their line, "I take it, I'm Bones?"


	4. Chapter 4

Ghost smiled, "Yes. The Winds siege the safe house. We are routing to the Depths."

The silence from her team reflected their shock.

"No one goes to the Depths without authorization," Toolchest snapped.

Ghost turned her head, looked at the smirking metal face filling the passenger seat, the blue visor flashing amusement.

She looked back at the road, "From the Depths, the strongest Furies rise."

"Shiva likes this," the voice purred, "Let the Windmen know their place at Shiva's feet."

Ghost directed, driving swiftly to the base Cybercat called lair.

Hours later, ducking down roads she barely remembered were there, climbing into more mountainous terrain, she felt the lack of sleep weakening her mental barriers.

"...ya should put on some jingles or jangles, love."

Ghost scowled at the grinning metal face, then focused on the road.

"Ah can do this all day long. Want ta hear me sing, love?" The visor flashed cheekily.

Muting her headset, she whispered, "Not now. Music is a distraction."

"Music can lift the soul, and ya need that, love," he turned his head, then smirked, "Got docbot upset now. Better ta turn on the music."

"Your music preferences differ from mine. He doesn't need to know you are lingering with unfinished business. It would hurt him more," she replied.

"Docbot knows that. Ah still say ya need ta pop some tunes. No mission is so dire ta not need dance moves."

Ratchet's holoform overlaid the metal face, "Is something wrong, Ghost?"

She flinched, "Lack of rest lets the dead speak more clearly to me. The one who is with us has strong opinions. He doesn't like to be ignored either."

She looked up at the visor, glared, then returned her eyes forward.

Turning her headset back on, she stated, "Approaching final ascent. Close ranks."

Ratchet stared at her, his holoform's blue eyes burning with questions.

After the confirmations, she took the road into the too tiny tunnel leading into the mountain side.

Shiva had her back, blocking anything that wanted to hurt Ratchet. The tunnel narrowed, threatening the paint on Shiva' vehicle.

Static filled the radio, growing worse.

"Keep following. Lines will be cut soon," Ghost ordered, slowing so they could keep together easier.

Ratchet spoke when the lines fuzzed out, "Which dead do you hear and which do you see?"

Ghost muted the headset, glance up at the visor then Ratchet, "I hear those who died before their time. Murdered unnaturally. Many wish to save those in the same position and fade once they have accomplished the task. They warn me of such dangers."

"Jazz."

She twitched, looked at Ratchet with a side glance.

"I recognize the signal, though degraded. Jazz is lingering."

Ghost nodded, "He is here. He said you were in danger and I needed to be near."

"Don't let his music fixation wear you down," Ratchet folded his arms, "Plus he stupidly went one on one with Megatron."

"Love ya, too, docbot," Jazz smirked.

Ghost relayed the comment, making Ratchet snort, "Smartaft."

She slowed again, the tunnel now scratching Shiva's paint. Ghost could hear intermittent bouts of Shiva's rage.

A door appeared at the end of the tunnel, the rusted look deceptive.

Ghost turned her headset back on, spoke the same phrase over and over again, "Furies rising to fight Wind borne enemies of humanity."

The door slid open before she reached it, allowing her into a large spacious cavern.

She pulled into the furthest slot, Shiva sliding in beside her.

Ratchet dissolved his holoform as Ghost opened the back.

Stepping out, she noted the entrance door sealed with a clang.

On a platform, Cybercat looked down, "No wonder the Winds are pissed. I'll throw another barbie on the grill."

Ratchet rolled out, transformed to be optic to eye with Cybercat, "Maggie."

"You didn't think we let you hang, did you, Ratchet?" she smiled sadly, "Just wish I had all the hands I got sooner to protect Leadfoot."

Ratchet nodded sadly, "These mechs of yours are energon thirsty."

"Ghost, take your team to the bunks. Rest up. I'll supply Ratchet."

"Cybercat, I wish to remain," Ghost spoke calmly.

"Go rest. I need you to fly the plane."

Ghost bowed her head at the order, walked to the bunks and sleep, Jazz's face floating beside her with a grin.

* * *

Ratchet looked at Maggie, "You sent Ghost to guard me?"

"She has a very good track record of getting things done and done right. She argues with the air sometimes, but she's stable on her own. Unlike the Furies down here who need help."

"She hears...Jazz."

Maggie looked down the tunnel where the Fury team had vanished, "I suspected she could see ghosts. Didn't think it was one of yours. Something about Mission City made her do a one eighty. Lost her children to her asshole of a husband, then lost them at Chicago. She's loyal."

Ratchet nodded, "She offered a Cybertronian oath of fealty to Optimus Prime."

"That is like her. Very dutiful. She'll get you to where the others are."

Ratchet resisted the hope in his spark, "Others?"

Maggie pointed at a series of screens, "Got Drift, Crosshairs, Hound, and Bumblebee in Nevada. They hide in the caves during the day. Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Prowl and Arcee are in Brazil, making good work on the local criminals."

"Optimus?" he asked.

Maggie shook her head, "No sign yet, but my lighter Furies are searching. The mediums are laying false trials, leading the Winds from the Autobots."

Ratchet rubbed his audial, "I need resupply if he's badly wounded."

Maggie smiled, "Come with me. My vault is yours."

Ratchet walked behind her to a storeroom that reminded him of those early in the war.

Restocking felt wrong as he filled his subspace, spare tanks and supplemented his tools with human made versions.

How many of his kind died since he didn't have everything he needed to save their sparks?

Now he stood so well stocked it made him feel a fraud.

Ghost's voice echoed to him, "Jazz says you need to lighten up. You can't save everyone. Only Primus can do that."

He turned, hating her mask as she looked up at him.

Maggie stepped closer, "Jazz?"

"Yes," Ghost pulled her mask off, the burned scars worse in the fluorescent lighting, "He also asks you to scan yourself now."

Ratchet huffed, "What? A trick from the Matrix?"

Her eyes burrowed into his spark, "Jazz says it's important. For the future to come."

Ratchet vented, then turned his scanners inside.

Repairs looking solid, minimal time to full recovery, reserve tanks at full, main tank half full. Welds partially healed. Wait.

He just topped his tanks, why were they half already?

He froze at where the energon flowed to.

Ratchet stared into the all too old eyes of Ghost, "Jazz?"

"He says you need to restock until you leave here. You've deprived yourself so much you didn't notice his final gift to you," Ghost looked at Maggie, "I'll take everything else that is left. The signal will start soon."

"Anything else from Jazz?" Maggie asked.

"All Furies must rise. This is only the first battle against a deeper darkness," Ghost looked up, "Humanity's vices must end before it arrives or all is lost. We must be virtue personified."

Masking her face, Ghost walked away, "I'll have some music turned on, so a wake up shake would be appreciated."

Ratchet felt the growing pulse of a new spark circling his, knowing Jazz hadn't left for this reason. Cybertronians would continue without the cube, just slowly.

They needed a medic for the future.


	5. Chapter 5

Ghost prepped the plane for take off the next day, the dim visage of Jazz keeping her company.

He wasn't done yet, but a big chunk of why he stayed now stood addressed.

The signal would come soon and she needed to be in the air when it sounded.

Ratchet drove around the plane, pulled into the cargo bay easily.

A pity the reason he could do that with human aircraft was broken by politicians who never raised a weapon to defend their country.

"Not all ya people know what ya know," Jazz's head bounced eerily in the co-pilot chair, "Ya would kick them down with ya strength."

"No. They would ignore me since I'm horrifying to behold. They would use me as a reason to eject you all, even though you chose me to be wounded," Ghost replied, "The right choice. The future children against the past adult."

"Ya ain't one foot in the grave, love. Ya got things ta do."

She looked at him, "If I die here, Jazz, then the circle closes while a new one opens."

"Ya ain't destined ta die this round, love. Ya are Fury. Furies take more ta clip their wings," he turned, grinned wickedly, "Hey, lover."

She looked over the chair back, right into Ratchet's face.

"If he's bothering you too much, you can remind him he left me a single genitor."

Ghost smiled, glanced at the now sulking Jazz, "That is a bit too cruel for my liking, CMO."

"He should have processed that before pestering you as much as he has," Ratchet snorted as he accused, "You barely recharged."

She acknowledged the reproach, "He kept singing and waking me up. He's glad you survived the attack. He saw a terrible fate for you and the new one at the hands of Lockdown."

Ratchet's armor plates rattled, "That is not a fate I wish to know."

She nodded, returned to pre-flight.

"Why do you allow him to disturb your recharge?"

She snorted, "Don't have a choice. I hear them unless I put up my mental walls. Jazz though likes to scale those walls and moonwalk on the top."

Jazz stopped sulking, smirked, "Until ya spiked the tops. Then ah had ta do other dances, love."

"You have too much time on your hands," she shook two fingers at Jazz, "I am not your personal messenger girl."

He sang, "Oh Danny girl."

"Was he this much trouble when on this side of the river?" she looked back at Ratchet.

"Jazz, I don't want to crash because you are bored."

Jazz stopped instantly.

She returned to preflight, "That worked."

Maggie joined them, "All supplies loaded. Your team is loading except Shiva. She'll be with me and the Depths Furies."

"Acknowledged, sir," Ghost finished preflight, "We are ready."

"Godspeed," Maggie needed to Ratchet, "Both of you."

"Be safe, Maggie. You are one ally who hasn't turned against us," Ratchet transformed back to his ambulance form.

"Bloke, you're wrong. There are thousands of us who never left you in the cold. We shelias are an army that you never knew was at your back," Maggie patted Ratchet then walked out.

Ghost smiled as her team drove up, loaded, then locked down their vehicles.

Toolchest climbed into the second chair, nodded to Ratchet, then joined Ghost as copilot, "I want big booms."

"Take guns," Ghost sealed the cargo bay, checking the ramp closed and locked correctly.

The engines ramped up, all lights green.

Ghost taxied to the the tunnel, then sped up.

She cleared and took to the air.

Jazz bounced between the two chairs, humming the theme to Airplane.

Banking, she ascended, catching a brief flash of the second plane.

Ratchet jolted, making her adjust to the shift in weight.

"Optimus has signaled," he stated into the headsets.

Maggie replied, "Where?"

"Hound and crew."

Maggie gave the directions as she hacked a new flight path.

Ghost glided the night towards the leader she would swear her fealty to.

It felt like her life was her own again.

* * *

Ratchet replayed the message from Optimus again, glad to hear his friend's voice again. The silence on the line wasn't as oppressive.

Then a horrible thought processed.

Jazz had been with Ratchet right before launching to this world. Ironhide did the same with Prime.

He'd check Prime as soon as they arrived. If a piece of Ironhide survived, he had to ensure it stayed online.

They needed hope and a future.

Ghost banked the plane towards an airfield they would offload at. A Fury controlled airfield.

Her calm helped ease the tension.

Ghost was his ally. She swore to protect him with her life.

Jazz must have told her how to make that oath, to understand the conditions.

The femmes of this world were standing, rising up.

If the signals Maggie coordinated were an indication, every Fury unit was awakening, moving.

Towards war.

Arming, supplying. Actions he'd taken thousands of times, these human femmes were doing for the first time.

How many of them would survive? Would it mirror the Cybertronian early battles, or would it be worse?

Then Optimus' voice filled Ratchet's processor, (Ratchet?)

(Optimus,) Ratchet growled back, (How badly are you hurt?)

There was silence for a long moment, (Not as badly as could be. I feared you had offlined.)

(Seems the femmes of this world don't want me offline. They are bringing me to you like NEST did once.)

(Femmes?)

(Maggie leads them. She's mobilizing her forces. She stock piled energon.)

Optimus replied with awe, (Energon? How?)

(The clever femmes took the collector and made solar panels to slowly generate energon for us. To think NEST wasn't allowed to hire femmes. Shames them in light of the strength amassing.)

(How soon will you be to our position?) Optimus sounded concerned.

(Ghost will land us in thirty minutes. They think one hour to drive to your location.)

(Be safe, old friend. The men behind this are as bad as Decepticons.)

(You better be whole, Optimus. I will weld you to Shiva's vehicle if needed.)

Optimus paused, (Understood, Ratchet.)

Ratchet grinned at the meek tone in Optimus' voice. No mech crossed the CMO.

The landing came too slowly for him, but unload compensated. As quick as a NEST deploy.

Ghost took a sedan vehicle this time, matching Toolchest. Maggie lead, followed by Toolchest and the twin bikes. He followed, with Shiva at his bumper, then Ghost and Beamrider. Behind them came two semis, two hummer style vehicles and three bikes. The Depths Furies.

Their convoy looked out of place, but so did any Autobot or NEST one.

The arid landscape passed slowly, dust flying from tires.

Then the lines blazed with short range communications.

He signaled back, demanding med reports from Cybertronian systems.

By the time his group pulled into the gathering, he knew which repairs needed to be done and which could wait.

Maggie stepped out as he transformed. He marched towards Crosshairs.

"Maggie," Optimus greeted, kneeling to speak with her.

"Optimus Prime. I present the Furies of Earth," Maggie grinned.

Ratchet pinned Crosshairs, repairing shoulder joints, glancing up as the femmes lined up behind Maggie.

The Depths Furies towered over the other femmes and had a distinctly aggressive set to their faces. One glared at Ghost in what looked like hatred.

He focused on his work, worried that internal strife would tear them apart.


	6. Chapter 6

Ghost glanced sideways at the bouncing feet of Jazz, trying to ignore his dancing and humming.

She could feel Flame's glare on her skin.

Flame seemed to focus on her as if an old enemy, but Ghost hadn't encountered her until joining Maggie/Cybercat's teams. Flame's arctic blue eyes were like daggers seeking to kill Ghost.

Ghost stood straight as Maggie introduced the Depths Furies first, then Ghost's team.

"Ghost led the team extracting Ratchet from the Cemetery Wind attackers," Maggie explained.

Flame's sneer caught Ghost's attention, but she didn't respond.

Optimus turned to Ghost spoke gravely, "You have my appreciation in rescuing my medic, Ghost."

Jazz knelt, whispered a reply.

Ghost spoke firmly, "Yours spared two of mine. The debt in years remains."

Optimus blinked at her, frowned, "Your words lead to a burden you should not bear."

Ghost shook her head, "Jazz fell so he struck only me, rather than my two children. They lived until Chicago. Fourteen years are owed to you and yours, Optimus Prime," she knelt, "This duty is understood."

Optimus paused before speaking, "I welcome an ally for fourteen years, but do not demand the death in defense of mine. Your offer is acceptable."

He straightened, moved back to the three at the camp fire.

Ghost stood, noting Jazz's shit eating grin and heard his cheeky, "He doesn't like death debts. Ah thought ah told ya that, love."

Maggie sighed, "Okay, we are here to support what plan you have. I got teams that can be called in as needed if you need an army backing you. I have decoys if subterfuge gets the best results."

Ghost noted Flame gleaming with pride.

Good for her. Ghost would not intervene if that was Flame's duty.

"Bee? Can you project this?" the adult man, Cade Yeager, moved to the yellow and black Autobot.

Bee transformed before the man sat down, connected something to Bumblebee.

Images flashed on the rock wall.

Leadfoot dying.

Every Fury stiffened in offense, a few growls passing lips.

Ghost felt hatred boil in her as the images shifted to another Autobot fighting, and losing.

Then Ratchet appeared, scrambling to flee.

"We thought you taken, old friend," Optimus directed to the medic now working on Hound's hip.

"Thank the femmes for being pit-spawned terrors," Ratchet replied as a flash of a face made Ghost stiffen.

It couldn't be.

Flame snarled, "Back it up."

Ghost focused on the images, hoping she was wrong.

A series of faces filled the image as it was paused. Her ears seemed to dim as she saw the one face she didn't want to.

Flame stalked forward, "Brandon."

Maggie stated, "Your ex boyfriend?"

"Left me to die in Chicago then broke up with me afterwards so I had to foot the bill for the destroyed apartment. Siding with Cemetery Wind is a new low."

Ghost blinked, looking away as her heart raced.

Flame wasn't the only one betrayed with this image.

The words that tore her heart apart shortly after Mission City echoing with every heartbeat.

Why did he have to show up in this damning image, too?

Jazz asked, "What's wrong, love? Something bossbot needs ta know?"

Ghost looked over at his visor, nodded at him.

Opening her mouth, Ghost froze at Flame's snap, "Ghost, stop being strange."

Ghost looked into the fiery gaze, resisted the urge to say nothing.

Instead she pulled her locket out, snapped the chain and tossed it at Flame.

Flame caught the locket, scowled, "What?"

"You are not the only one betrayed," Ghost removed her mask, dropped it even as the other Furies retreated, catching sight of her wounds, "Yours didn't tell you it was better you had died than lived with ruined looks. You didn't have children who were made to think you left for the other side of the river to dance with death."

Ghost walked away, moving into the night to cool off.

Pain jabbed her as she thought back to being in the hospital bed, agony from burns clouding her mind as James told her what he would do.

Erasing her from his life and replacing it with a fake wife who did die.

She would have no insurance, nothing to pay the medical bills to restore her to herself.

Stopping she looked up at the night, cursing that he'd walked back into her life as an enemy.

Or had he'd never stopped being her enemy and he was circling again for another strike?

Jazz sat down beside her, "Sorry, love."

"Why?" she asked the ghost, "You made the right decision to fall on me and not my children."

"Ya may still have ya sparkmate if ah chose differently, love."

She cocked her head, then shook it in dismissal, "No, he'd have left me for failing to protect them. He wasn't my soulmate nor true love. He only wanted me for my beauty. Never my mind, dedication nor love. He is destroying this world's defenses for his greed. I am defending them with my strength and love."

"Maybe if ah retreated that once, ya'd be a whole family, love," he rubbed the back of his head.

"If you had, maybe Megatron would have blown me and my children away instead and I would be haunting you," she sighed, "What matters is how we handle this present and the future, Jazz. At least you have been a companion while my heart mended better than my flesh."

"Well, love, that ain't correct at all. Ya surface repainted itself in a pretty pattern."

She looked up at him, "What?"

"Pink suits ya as war paint, love," his visor flashed with his smirk, "Makes ya a femme any of us would be glad ta call comrade."

"War paint? You have the oddest perceptions on humanity," she sighed, rubbed a hand through her short hair, "Before this my voice was enough to off put men. These scars are considered shameful for women."

"Then ya people are stupid, love. Ya lived through a battle with Cons. That should show them ya take a kicking and keep ticking."

She rubbed her eyes wearily, "That is not the phrase we use."

* * *

Ratchet listened to the one sided conversation in the distance, filling in likely responses from Jazz to the commentary.

To hear the pain in Ghost's voice after seeing the picture in the locket of her hugging one of the men hunting them, and that same man grinning with a pair of boys, he understood her more.

Maggie closed the locket, "James Savoy. Let me see if my shelias can track this man and Brandon. Between these two, we have a way to trace who owns the money bags of Cemetery Wind."

Flame kicked a rock, "Can't believe I have anything in common with Ghost."

Maggie huffed, "Flame, go challenge Ghost and get it out of your system. I'm thinking you and her can provide a great distraction."

"How?" Flame snapped, "She's Phantom of the Opera."

Maggie ordered, "Go settle your differences."

Shiva picked up a bag from Ghost's sedan, walked towards Ghost, "Come when you are ready. Shiva will watch."

Flame's teammate Moonshine walked with Flame towards Ghost.

Maggie called, "Ties come back here."

"You sure allowing them to fight is a good thing?" Cade asked.

Maggie chortled, "If there's a tie, you'll see why our fights are better than men's."

Ratchet finished the repairs on every mech but Optimus.

Ratchet went to his leader, indicated Optimus needed to sit, held out energon.

Optimus accepted the energon, began drinking.

Ratchet did a deep scan, making Optimus glance at him.

No sparkling detected.

No Ironhide offspring. Only Jazz's.

(Something wrong, old friend?)

Ratchet began fixing Optimus' knee joint, (I am carrying Jazz's sparkling. I had hoped...)

Optimus offlined his optics, (That Ironhide and I sparked? If we had, my death would have sent the sparkling back to the matrix.)

(I'm sorry to bring up bad memories.)

(No, old friend. You carry new life. That means hope. The humans have given us a source of energon without destroying their sun. That gives us a future. These femmes have brought us allies and resources we desperately need. That gives us strength.)

Ratchet smiled, (Ghost is aptly named. She's been speaking to Jazz.)

(He is not at the Matrix?) Optimus looked where the femmes had gone.

(He's haunting her. The smartass.) Ratchet finished the repair, moved to the chest piece, fixing a near invisible fracture with a weld line, (Kept her from recharge with his singing and by the sounds of it, arguing with her over his actions to spare her children at the cost of her beauty and fully functional body.)

(Losing both her sparklings and her mate.)

Ratchet huffed, (Her mate wasn't strong enough if a little scarring and a bad leg shut down his love. Her children though...)

(A blow no genitor wishes to feel,) Optimus touched Ratchet's shoulder, (Keep yourself well, Ratchet. Your sparkling needs to survive. For all our sakes.)

Ratchet finished the repairs, standing as the women returned.

"Tied," Shiva replied as Ghost stood with something dangling from her hand.

Ratchet realized is was a mixture of paper and string woven in a pattern.

Flame had another configuration of the same materials.

Maggie looked at them then pointed at Drift, "Drift gets to vote for the best crafted item."

"What?" Cade frowned.

Maggie grinned, "You thought we'd use men's way of settling disputes? Fisticuffs and blood?"

Moonshine smiled, "It's a craft battle. We all list what we are best at, then a program randomly selects one craft from both challenge and challenger. The two make the craft and present it. We got crochet and origami."

Flame dangled a chain of bird paper creations with a tassel of color string woven in a repeating pattern. Ghost carried a bag made of the string, multicolored paper planes bouncing from tethers, like seekers diving in a storm.

"Drift which one do you like best?" Maggie asked cheerfully.


	7. Chapter 7

Ghost never expected one of the Autobots would be the tie breaker.

Neither did she expect Shiva to like Flame's ornament and Moonshine her bag.

Drift examined both creations seriously, his optics scanning both, a small smile curling his lips.

"This one appeals," he pointed to Flame's, "Perhaps nine hundred and ninety more and we'll have a miracle?"

Flame grinned.

Maggie stated, "Then you get the creation to do with what you like, Drift," she turned to Flame, "All grudges are settled now, Flame, Ghost."

Flame nodded, "Of course."

Ghost smiled, "No grudge left."

Taking her bag to the sedan, she shoved it into the glove box.

Losing on this wasn't a failure, but a lesson.

She needed to refresh her skills in crafts for next time.

Jazz's hand passed through the engine, "Ya could have gone with meh suggestion, love."

"Jazz, no more," she grumbled.

"Love, ya got ta show ya strengths."

"Jazz, sometimes we humans aren't good at all tasks. I need to do some crafting in those areas I'm not so good at. Please let it rest. This isn't a reflection on you."

Jazz pouted, "Ya coulda won, love."

"Do I need to ask Ratchet to get you to be quiet again?"

He held up his hands, "Ya win, love."

She scowled at him, noticing his posture wasn't submissive. It was sneaky.

"Jazz."

He laughed, "Ah love ya for processing like a saboteur, love."

"If you were this much of a handful alive, I respect Optimus that much more for dealing with you daily," Ghost snorted in irritation, folding her arms.

"But ya love meh more for it, love."

Ghost paused, considered the ghost, blew out a breath, "Okay. You're right. As much as you frustrate me and make me lose sleep, your companionship has been a positive these seven years. Now, can I see what my leader and Optimus want to do without your antics?"

His visor winked.

Rolling her eyes, she walked back to the group.

Ratchet sat beside Optimus, looking at Drift as he pondered where to put Flame's creation.

"Optimus, you need to get to KSI without Winds interfering. Now we know two of the men working with Winds are exes, we can use Ghost and Flame as distractions. Flame can drive her semi which we've painted to match your flames, Optimus, with Ghost as passenger. That should jolt the Winds. Two exes and what appears to be yourself, maybe have them swing by a federal office or two, like a thumbing."

Ghost snorted, "A 'here I am, come get us' sort of distraction? Or a 'we know who you are'?"

"Both," Maggie tapped her lips, "We have teams who have vehicles like Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, and Prowl who we can have escort the fake Optimus. Make them chase shadows."

Jazz bounced, back and forth, making Ghost look up at his face, in time for him to offer, "Get someone inside ta blow some supplies and make them scurry, love."

"Jazz suggests applying some explosive ordinance to their stockpiles to cause panic," Ghost relayed, "With the fakes moving around, could force them to run to our tune."

Maggie hummed, "Don't know if we have any sheilas inside their operations."

"Ah could get ya inside, love," Jazz winked down at Ghost.

"With my face? I couldn't waltz in," she scowled up at him.

"Take the right path, ya could, love."

"This mug wouldn't get me pass the first checkpoint, Jazz. Especially if my ex is there. He'd take one look and come running."

Jazz bent down, making her take a step back, "Ta scurry in ya wake. Make him dance ta ya tune, love. Then ya jump inta the fake Optimus."

Optimus asked, "What is Jazz's proposal?"

"He wants me to show my face to freak out James, then get into the fake Optimus to make them chase us," Ghost translated, "That is assuming James cares enough to run after me. He did throw me away as you well know, Jazz."

Jazz smirked, "Leaving ya ta meh. What a lucky mech ah am."

* * *

Ratchet resisted laughing at Ghost as she argued with Jazz. He could tell she was losing, and guessed the response, "He said he got you instead and how fortunate he is, right?"

Ghost looked at him, almost slumped, "I don't need to be double teamed."

Maggie grinned, "I'm liking his plan. This will twist the balls of any bloke."

Ratchet considered it, looked at Optimus, "Sounds like one of his schemes. Could work."

Optimus looked at his team, "This will cause confusion and allow us to see what KSI is doing. To know our enemy and how to defeat them."

"And why Lockdown is working with them," Ratchet added.

Optimus gravely agreed, "He is key to this puzzle."

"We can scout the KSI building and plan how to slide inside while they track Cemetery Wind's base of operations," Cade offered, "Then we divide their attention with a fake you popping up along with Ghost and Flame."

"I'll get with my sheilas on planning this fake appearance and how to best twist the knife into Jame Savoy and Brandon Smithson," Maggie's feral grin flashed.

Ratchet leaned back, smiling as the two races plotted together, refining the plans to mess with the Winds.

(Old friend?)

Ratchet shifted his optics to Optimus, (What?)

(Jazz should be at the Matrix. What must we do to send him on his way?)

Ratchet offlined his optics against the pain of losing Jazz again. To only have the pulsing life left of the mech circling his spark, a tiny fragment Jazz's varied history.

(He may be too stubborn to leave until he's ready,) Ratchet onlined his optics, glanced at Optimus, (He found perhaps the only human on Earth who could hear him. Do you think he'd let go of such an audience if he felt he had to stay and bolster the Autobots?)

(I am concerned about the femme. She hears Jazz constantly. One who proved for vorns he could manipulate anyone to his plan. Could a human femme resist him?)

Ratchet silently snorted, (This femme? I think she may put him in his place. She has a spark of a warrior. I would love to see her smack Jazz around a bit. Like she will the tankless mech who abandoned her.)

Optimus faceplates took on a faint scowl, one only other Cybertronians could see, (Taking both her sparklings then having them die in Chicago. If I had not revived Sentinel, her children would still be alive.)

A devious brush on Ratchet's armor preceded Optimus offlining his optics.

Ratchet turned, then froze.

Ghost stared at him, her eyes blazing.

"He says you and he use to argue over how to take care of Optimus Prime. He needed a rest. We will plan."

Ratchet looked at Optimus, then shook his helm before easing Optimus down. He was recharging upright.

"Okay, girl," Crosshairs scowled, "If you are talking to Jazz, then tell him he owes me energon cubes."

Ghost looked to a blank spot then smiled, "He says you owe him three cubes for losing that dance off on Omega Supreme. Plus another six for losing the race in the Sea of Rust."

Crosshairs grumbled, stalked off, "Even the femmes are slaggers. This back world has no respect."

Ghost laughed, "Shows us something to respect and we'll show you hospitality that is second to none."

"I don't respect beings who are squishy," Crosshairs sneered.

"Shiva only respects other gods. You are not a god."

Ratchet laughed at Crosshairs' expression as he glared at Shiva.

Shiva painted her nails as if the Cybertronian scowling at her held no danger to her.

Dee and Dum smirked, trading money as the stare off continued.

"Shiva, shelia, stop twisting the nice bloke's coat," Maggie looked at her Furies, "Sleep. We have Winds to strip power from."

Shiva sniffed, "Shiva will keep her throne for first house of the stars."

Ghost looked at the blank space, rolled her eyes, then walked away, "If someone could play some music to keep that menace entertained, I can take third watch."

Ratchet smiled sadly, "Pity only Jazz had the old songs."

Ghost stopped, glanced at the blank space, then Bumblebee, "Jazz says you have a copy of his Iaconian dance mix, Bumblebee."

Bee twirled his optics then got excited.

Ratchet smiled as the scout pulled from a hidden subspace a crystal. The first strands of the music grew in the silence. Ratchet felt his plates loosen hearing something from home. A home long gone, but not forgotten.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's note: Short chapter today. Hopefully longer sections later.

* * *

Ghost woke slightly refreshed, sitting up and stretching from the reclined seat. The crick in her back refused to loosen, a sign she wasn't young anymore.

Looking down at the mask in the passenger seat, she considered her future and how it entwined with her past.

A past that took everything from her but her existence on Earth.

"Dance time, love."

Shaking her head she looked up at Jazz's ghostly figure through the window of her vehicle, "No dancing for me, Jazz. Work first and foremost."

"Ah, love. Dancing while working is perfect unity," he slide across the ground in a mixture of pop moves and those she figured came from his world.

Exiting her vehicle, she watched him moonwalk, breakdanced then oddly enough slip into the jitterbug.

A terrible thought occurred to her, "Jazz, if you are here, what of Ironhide? What about the Fallen?"

He snorted, "The Fallen is dead and fled ta the matrix. Coward."

Before she could ask after Ironhide, she heard Maggie's voice calling her.

She walked towards her commander, wondering what was needed.

Flame scowled as she approached with a huge silver case. She looked Ghost in the face, her expression softening.

Ghost touched her face, realized she forgot her mask.

It felt odd to be without it, yet a promise of a better future.

"I have to do your hair," Flame grumbled.

Ghost got it, "We are moving that quickly with disguise and distraction?"

"We start your prep so you can waltz in without a second glance your way," Flame grinned, "Watch a mistress at work."

Jazz crooned, "Ah get ta see ya normal beautification rituals."

Ghost sighed, "Beware. Jazz is interested."

Flame gripped her arm and pulled her to her semi, "Let's stick it to our exes."

* * *

Ratchet rubbed his leg cables, muttering about his age and lack of decent care from another medic.

Optimus came online slowly, optics twirling in confusion.

"Seems Jazz can do some minor feats," Ratchet told Optimus gruffly in Cybertronian.

"Tell him the impossible and he makes it true," Optimus sat up, looked around the camp, "Cade?"

"Bumblebee and he left to start the stakeout of KSI. His femme sparkling isn't allowed near the nearly adult mech," Ratchet nodded to Sean and Tessa, "They're younglings in love."

Optimus looked at the pair, nodded his understanding, "Our experiences between Bumblebee and Firestar should give us a better outcome."

Ratchet gave Optimus a scowl, "They are human. They will throw a wrench into a simple plan."

"Jazz says you should listen to Ratchet," Ghost commented, "Though I'm not sure what about."

Ratchet turned to scold her and Jazz, but froze.

She wasn't wearing her mask. Her hair hid her scars, turning her from intriguing to nearly invisible.

A spy, like Jazz could have done if he lived.

"That different?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"You look like a paper pusher," Maggie grinned, "A secretary who blends into the background if we play it right."

"As long as I remember to not flip my hair or whirl around quickly," Ghost agreed, her lips pursuing slightly as she sat, "Flame has many skills useful to the plan."

Ratchet heard Flame's muttered, "Why are men so damn useless? Dumping both of us. Might as well marry a Fury."

Ratchet looked over, "That is legal in three states and twelve countries. We'd have no problem with it either, Flame."

Flame looked back, "Really? Why?"

"Your gender doesn't restrict you from partners with the current level of scientific techniques available. Either one of a dual femme partnership could carry sparklings, or both, should the timing work."

Ghost looked over to empty space, scowled, "I am not mousy, Jazz."

Her face grew more irritated s she stood suddenly.

"Jazz, go pester your lover. I have training to do so I'm not the Fury marching in to slice heads."

She stalked away, her shoulders tight.

"Jazz, leave her be," Ratchet grumbled.

His body shuddered as energy merged briefly with his systems.

Humor and deviousness stroked his processor, then down to parts no mech had touched since Jazz.

"Jazz behave," Ratchet snarled, "That is unfair."

Ratchet hated how his systems tried to prepare for the touch of a mech dead.

Maggie purred from where she sat with her computer, "Well. We have a Fury who could help us in."

She turned her computer around, a video playing.

It was a live feed from Cade and Bumblebee.

Ratchet blinked, leaned closer.

He grinned with feral intent, "Very good."


	9. Chapter 9

Ghost drove her vehicle to the rendezvous point with Cade and Bumblebee in Chicago, her new look upsetting her. Jazz's comments earlier hadn't helped either.

She looked meek, unconfident and wallflowery.

She wasn't a wallflower.

A warrior, a survivor, a fighter.

Not a mouse to a lion.

Taking a deep breath, she blew it out angrily. Didn't help her mood.

"Wallclingers are also those no one sees coming at them with a blade, love."

She blew out a breath, "I am not wallflower. Never was, never will be."

"Ya hold the blade to their throats, love," he whispered in her ear, "Ta those who would steal meh sparkling's life before their first gaze upon this world."

She muffled a sob, the thought of her boys in Chicago nearly overwhelming her, "You know I will do anything to spare them what was done to mine."

"Ah know, love. Ya need ta remember ya are my only hope."

"Star Wars, really?"

"Ah have nothing better ta do, love."

Ghost shook her head, "I suppose not."

"Ya know, if ya bored, ask Ratchet ta tell ya of the last night with meh."

"And get a saw blade at my throat, no thank you. I'm not joining you yet, Jazz."

"Then Ah'll join ya."

"How?" Ghost demanded.

He hummed mischievously, but didn't answer.

* * *

Ratchet followed Optimus into Chicago, hating the new paint job and the extra weight Maggie and her furies added to disguise him.

With the sparkling he couldn't transcan a new form.

The garish pink paint with the white racks made him feel human.

Then they pulled into an alley, then ducked into an abandoned church.

He parked, eager to have the racks unlatched.

The furies circled him, pulling off the racks.

He transformed, groaning at the pull on his systems.

Of course Jazz's sparkling would be this energetic and draining.

Rubbing his chassis, he settled on some rubble, venting.

"Ghost, Flame and the decoy are at the secondary location, mates," Maggie grinned, "My furies say Cade and Bee are in route back here."

"I welcome more such news," Optimus replied.

"Also, the two rats are in town. We can start the decoy at any time."

"Twist the knife in extra for the autobots they killed, and for me," Crosshairs grinned manically.

"Shiva does not need such prompting," Shiva stepped around Crosshairs, scrapping her nails on the green paint, "Shiva has what she needs to enact divine punishment from their entrails."

"Can you get any more creepy?"

"Don't taunt Shiva. This is her at her calmest, mate," Maggie smiled at Shiva, "Beware her if she pulls out the sword. Her claws are the least of her weapons."

Ratchet suspected if he scanned Shiva he'd find her chemicals out of balance.

Just like Crosshairs had a processor glitch.

What a pair to be running with on a mission.

He missed Ghost and the whisper of Jazz now he didn't have them around.

Optimus placed a servo on his shoulder, "How are you, Ratchet?"

"Tired," he sighed, "Why do the humans continue to betray us?"

Maggie sighed, "Because men only think with their gent bits. They are threatened by yours."

Ratchet snorted, then guffawed, shaking at the thought of it.

"Gross," Crosshairs replied, "My equipment is not under discussion."

Shiva gave Crosshairs a look over, "Shiva agrees. Very gross."

Ratchet laughed, his spark lightened at the banter.

This wasn't his team, but they were close. If he offline his optics and listened with his spark, he could be any planet with his comrades,


	10. Chapter 10

Ghost stood looking out on the street, waiting for her moment to take the stage as a…wallclinger. She resisted drooping her shoulders.

She had to dig the knife into her ex and make him follow, make him chase her.

Distract him from Cade, Optimus and Ratchet.

Flame snorted, "Relax. We'll succeed."

"I don't do wallflower well."

"You will for this. Make the bastards pay for abandoning us in the middle of a war, then daring to take the enemy's side," she sipped from a bottle of water, "So is that ghost still with us?"

"He's humming over there," Ghost nodded to the amused Jazz.

"Did that start at Mission City?"

"What start?" Ghost frowned, baffled.

"Hearing the dead."

Ghost shrugged, "That or Jazz is the so un-ignorable I couldn't not hear and see him. Though I sometimes hear whispers, not his voice but others at greater distance."

"Maybe your children?"

Ghost swallowed back the pain, "I hope they had crossed and had no lingering tasks on this side."

"Maybe they want you to move on," Flame frowned, "Could explain why Jazz is so insistent."

"Love, ya got ta go."

Ghost glanced at Jazz, "It's not time yet, Jazz."

"Go, love. Ya'll like this timing."

"We can insert at any time," Flame offered.

Jazz was bouncing back and forth, dancing in a very irritating way.

She gave in, "Only to get this wall bit out of the way."

Moving gingerly and slowly like a professional meek mouse, Ghost stepped up into the fake Optimus Prime semi, buckling in as a passenger.

Flame drove through the back roads to the drop off point. Ghost slipped out when Flame stopped, attaching the badge to her jacket.

Then scurrying to the building identified as the base for the Winds, she readied herself for battle.

Except no one stopped her, or offered an opportunity to fight.

She slid right in with the crowds, moving to the deeper rooms.

Taking up a pile of folders, she moved through the corridors Maggie had shown her.

To the room near the AC units.

Slipping into the janitor's closet, leaving the door partially open, she set down her pile of folders.

Straightening she opened her bag and pulled out the case containing the explosive.

It would be placed on the wall facing the AC unit, the shaped charge would exploded through the wall.

"Love, ya have company."

Keeping the case closed, she looked over as a man, grinning, joined her in the closet.

"You must be new," he smirked, "This is the love closet."

She looked up at him, trying to act meek as her heart began to pound.

He braced an arm on the wall, the one she was going to explode, leaning down, "You down for a party?"

Jazz purred, "Give him a party, love."

She smiled.

* * *

Ratchet sat working on his supplies, rearranging them for the third time in an hour.

Ghost and Jazz worried him. One incorporeal, the other fragile. Both had their hooks in his spark.

A buzz around his spark from his growing sparkling made him pause, focusing inside.

Jazz's offspring. A bit of light in an otherwise grim time.

Then pheromones drew him out of his reverie.

"Excited are you?" he directed to the slim woman in tight jeans and leather jacket standing from a sleek car.

"You know it, Ratch," Mikeala smiled, "Got to do my part since the ditz left you on your own."

Ratchet nodded, "His path lead away from us."

Bumblebee crooned, kneeling to extend a servo to the girl.

"Hey, Bee. This is your new alt. KSI is drooling over being able to scan it since it's custom," Mikela turned around, pointed her thumb down her back, "Making a name that even the rich boys can't ignore."

The back of her leather jacket sported the name of her garage, stylized runes surrounding it in a circle.

"Good to hear. Though you would have made a fine medic," Ratchet remembered fondly her eagerness to learn his trade.

"Then I wouldn't be here to put the Winds on ice," she patted the car then moved away, "All yours, Bee."

Bee scanned the car, then transformed into a mirror, including the gold yellow paint.

The Celtic knot detailed in black accentuated the low, sleek body. Optic catching.

Jazz would have loved it.

Mikeala walked over to Optimus, "How are you big boss?"

"Better now more friends are coming to our side, once more, Mikeala," Optimus replied gently.

"You never lost me from your side. Never did, never will. You helped me get my father back into the world and legitimate. Family ties us together."

"Rock and roll," Bee chirped with a song clip.

"Shall we start this mission?" Mikeala winked at Maggie, "We cats need to claw."

"Sure thing, Jaguar."

Mikeala rumbled, moving over to Bee's driver side, "Time to stalk."


	11. Chapter 11

Ghost stashed the man behind some shelves, planted the bomb and slipped out to hurry like a mouse to the exit and freedom.

She turned a corner, then stopped.

A group approached, one with her ex in it.

Moving to the side, she kept her head bowed.

"I need more men for this. Your asset is weak and unable to produce results," James growled lowly to an older man with glasses and thinning hair.

"Just tree the target, Savoy," glasses replied softly as he started to pass her.

Ghost moved forward, hoping she got closer to the door before she did the reveal.

James made a familiar, "Hmm?" that she knew meant he noticed something out of place.

Jazz's face grinned, "Time ta shine, love. Give him hell for meh lover."

Gauging the distance, she hoped she could get clear as she turned, looked back at the group.

James stared a moment, uncomprehending for a long moment, then he blanched, "Janet?"

Shaking back her hair, she returned his gaze with her hatred, "James."

Glasses looked between them, "Who is this, Savoy?"

"Oh, yes, James. Who am I?" Ghost purred nastily at him, "Your skeleton is dancing out of the closet."

Jazz murmured, "On meh mark, love."

"She's no one."

Janet smirked, "Really, James. I bore you two children, both you got killed in Chicago."

"Love, time ta dance."

She whirled, started sprinting.

A rumble shook the building, the first sign the bomb had gone off. Alarms blared for fire.

The lights flickered, then shut down as the air stopped.

Jumping around people, she gained the foyer, racing for the doors.

Others started running, thinking she sprinted for a reason.

Clearing the doors, she heard shouts as pursuers tried to escape the blockade at the doors.

She whistled, hoping the mike picked up her call for pick up.

Easily opening up her gait, she flew down the sidewalk.

"Janet!"

Hearing the roar of her ex, she smiled.

She won herself back from him. He was the weak, destroyed person.

Jazz held up a hand for stop.

She skidded to a halt as Flame slammed on the brakes, the fake Optimus filling the space she would have dived into.

Swinging into the cab, Ghost looked back, triumph on her face as James gaped.

She called, "He's a better man than you."

The outrage on his face invigorated her as Flame drove away.

"Good parting shot," Flame snorted, taking the corners easily.

"Yes. Felt good to return to being me."

* * *

Ratchet listened to the transmission Bumblebee shared.

Cade hade slipped in through the front as Mikeala drew men to her "custom celt car" and the scanning in progress.

"This project took me and my crew a little over a year to complete," Mikeala's speech purring as she sold them on her work, "Two hunted thirty seven applications of specialized designs with paint to create not only the Celtic knot work pattern but also the shimmer effect as sunlight hits it."

Ratchet huffed as a man started in on Mikeala, stating she couldn't have designed it. She was taking credit for one of the men in her shop.

"I'll design right now. When I finish you will owe me two months time in my garage."

"You'e on. I bet you couldn't do a pattern with dragons."

"European, Asian, African, South American or North American?" Mikeala shot back.

"Asian," the man snapped.

Ratchet muttered, "Stupid mech. He'd challenge her more with African or South American."

Optimus replied gently, "I have the feeling she has studied many designs and could make things up on the spot, old friend."

Ratchet leaned back against the wall, careful not to but too much pressure on the human made materials, "He'll owe her time and she'll make him do it."

"Naturally," Optimus smiled slightly then sighed, "A pity Sam is not standing with us."

Ratchet looked up at the ceiling then over at Optimus, "Did Sam tell you why he broke things off with Mikeala?"

Optimus shuttered his optics a moment then frowned, "Odd. He said Mikeala broke up with him."

Snorting, Ratchet folded his arms across his chassis, "Sam was threatened by Mikeala's power and personality. It's why he went with Carly. She wasn't a threat to him as a man, especially once he got a better paying job than Carly. Sam dumped her."

Optimus sighed, "He lied to us?"

"Frag yes he did," Ratchet growled, "Then when all the other humans turned on us he abandoned us. Did you see his video denouncing us?"

Drift, Hound and Crosshairs stared with various expressions of outrage.

Optimus slumped slightly, "He has?"

"Mikeala, Maggie, Ghost, all these Furies," he gestured to the ladies angrily cleaning weapons, "They prove humanity is better than Sam. They are true spark siblings."

Shiva huffed, "Shiva's toes are better than that slime. He is not worthy of being stomped into the ground by Shiva. Shiva accepts siblings, even the irritating one."

Crosshairs leaned down, "I'm not your sibling."

"Shiva enjoys sibling rivalry," she pulled out a sword, pointed it at Crosshairs, "Shiva and siblings in Furies and Autobots will destroy the Winds."

She pulled out a kit then began sharpening the sword.

Crosshairs snorted stalked away, "A femme as sister? Bah."

Ratchet perked as Mikeala gave a triumphant laugh distracting them, "See. I am the mistress of my garage. Contact information. You are coming to my garage to see real men."

Ratchet smiled, "Jaguar is a femme worthy of being an Autobot."

His mind drifted back to Ghost and Jazz.

Were they the okay? Had they succeeded?

"Ghost to Cybercat. Chase underway," her voice echoed as if called by his thoughts.

"Keep them on your tail then fade at dawn," Maggie replied calmly.

"Affirmed," Ghost acknowledged, "The other ghost says more darkness comes before the light."

Ratchet's spark clenched, knowing Jazz had asked that relayed.

More trouble on the way.

Ratchet hoped they wouldn't lose another treasured companion in this fight.


	12. Chapter 12

Ghost rubbed her bad leg, wincing. Ratchet had warned her not to overtax it by running long. The pang reminded her she had nasty injuries that held her back.

"Bad knee?"

Ghost sighed, "Bad leg and replaced hips. Take your pick."

"Stretch it. A nice perk of my semi is the leg room, and sleeper cab."

She nodded at Flame, going through exercises to loosen up the muscles and attempt to ease the aches.

Over the radio came, "Extract of lemonade in progress."

Bumblebee and Cade were being pulled out as planned.

Jazz growled, "Something's wrong. The Winds aren't chasing ya now."

"What do you mean, Jazz?"

Them he looked backwards, "Look out!"

Ghost grabbed the wheel yanked, Flame cursing.

Until they saw something streak by with a tail of white smoke.

"Shit!" Flame took back control, began evasive maneuvers around the explosion.

"Firestorm," Ghost gritted out over the radio before the vehicle suddenly went airborne.

Everything jumbled as they flipped, tumbled.

The seatbelt kept her from being ejected but that was all.

When the world stopped spinning, she stared out the cracked windshield.

At approaching Cybertronian legs.

Not an Autobot.

Then the vehicle was yanked up then rolled back to its tires, before a large servo tore the roof away.

"Where is Optimus Prime?" growled the mech standing before her.

Jazz hissed, "Lockdown. Practically a Deception bounty hunter. Frag ya, slagger."

Ghost realized this may be her time to cross the river, until Flame stirred glared up at Lockdown.

"Men and mechs. All the same fucking arseholes," her voice taking on a brogue, "Ay be telling ya nothing ya want."

Lockdown sneered, "Every planet has it's Autobot supporters. Lucky for you, I know your opposites."

He grabbed them, flung them into the air, transforming to catch them in his interior.

Where something zapped, and Ghost's vision tunneled on Jazz's gritted visage.

* * *

Ratchet knew something was wrong the instant Maggie heard Ghost's voice issuing a new code word right before there was an explosion, rending metal.

"It has to be Lockdown," Maggie snarled, "Any earth bloke those two would have taken down."

"We can be at them in twenty minutes," Dee and Dum chimed together.

Maggie shook her head, "No shelias. Beamrider, one of your commercial looking drones, using a standard feed."

Beamrider nodded, her singing voice deepening with menace, "I'll find them."

At nineteen minutes Bumblebee returned with Mikeala and Cade.

"Our part was successful," Mikeala replied with a dark tone, exiting Bumblebee.

Cade strode, the white lab coat oddly fitting him, "They are breaking down Cybertronians for the metal you are made of. They are calling it transformium. It a rare earth metal and the biggest supply they found is you."

Bumblebee returned to mech form, his optics horrified. Getting parts of the dead to save another they all had seen at one point, Ratchet more than most. Being torn down for just their metal was new to him.

"What purpose do they have for this metal?" Optimus asked.

Mikeala snapped, "To make versions of you. They showed a video while Bee was in their 3D and HD scanner. Designers," she snarled the word like a curse, "claiming Bee's design was old and ugly. Their version, Stinger, is so much better."

Ratchet leaned down, "They are scrapping us to make human versions of us?"

"Yes. The fucking monsters."

"Visual!" Beamrider stated, then whispered, "No."

The wreckage of the fake Optimus showed scorches and breaks, the cab torn away. But no Flame nor Ghost in the craters nor area. Hardly any blood from what he could see.

"Lockdown," Crosshairs spat, "Those are his marks."

Shiva bellowed, "Shiva will hunt him down for harming Shiva's fellow goddess!"

Maggie got in front of Shiva before she got halfway to her vehicle, "This demon wants you to act on the rage, Shiva. We will show him how wrong he is by bottling it up then tearing our blood price from him at our time and place. Right, sheila?"

Shiva quivered, her face feral for a few seconds then she stepped back, "This enemy demon will adorn my chariot."

Maggie nodded, then switch her radio frequency, "Furies! The Winds have a hurricane at their beck and call. Descend with spears and shields to protect our sisters."

She clicked off, "Killing Cybertronians to make human versions is an abomination. We will not stand for it. We have a second Optimus fake. Let's lead this Lockdown into our battlefield."

"No," Optimus replied turning to Crosshairs and Drift, "You both have seen him on other worlds. What did he do with sympathizers?"

Drift sighed, "Turned them over to the enemy. He had them extract information with their methods."

Ratchet's tanks dropped.

Ghost was going to suffer at the hands of Cemetery Wind, and he could do nothing.


	13. Chapter 13

Ghost cracked her eyes but didn't lift her head.

She was bound to a chair, her hair a shield for her face.

Jazz muttered, "If Ah had meh body Ah'd show Lockdown the other side of the rifle."

A door opened, "You should have told us about this skeleton, Savoy."

Ghost gritted her teeth, knowing they had been handed over to the Winds.

With a sickening thought, she realized Lockdown did this so humans would extract information for him.

From her and Flame.

Maggie's calm voice echoed from her memories, telling her how to resist interrogation and keep her sanity if captured. Ways to get word out by fooling her capturers.

Ghost sat up, raised her head to look at James and Balding Man.

"Comfortable, skeleton?" Balding Man asked.

She cocked her head, but said nothing.

"So you were Savoy's wife before he destroyed all the the paper trials. How did you ever link with the aliens?"

She smiled, recalling Cybercat playfully sparing with one of the Anonymous hackers. A way to hurt the Winds and get word to her commander about where they were.

James scowled, "He's an alien. How could you betray your country?"

"We are legion," she started, her eyes boring into them as she recited the full declaration of Anonymous, "Earthpride sends his regards."

Balding Man weighed her as she stared into him.

"We'll check your links to that group. If they think allying with aliens will serve their greed, then they will learn," he turned to leave.

Jazz leaned down, "Add ta his pyre, love. Tell him Megatron is playing them."

"Oh, baldy," she sang out, "Megatron will have you licking his pedes."

"Megatron is dead," Balding Man countered.

Jazz growled, "He's murdering us for money, love. Set a knife at his spark chamber."

"Is he now? You who serve at the feet of greed," Ghost leaned forward, "You who sold his soul to the alien demon Megatron. Killing one of the legion will make more rise in arms against you."

James sneered, "She can't be with Anonymous. She doesn't have the strength to be one of theirs. Couldn't program a VCR much less a computer."

She smiled, "They need foot soldiers and those who can get places they can't. Women on the ground."

"She's lying," James growled, "Her tells are there."

Taking a gamble with Jazz whispering to her, she leaned back, "100k in stocks if you bring the seed to the head of KSI. Treason to many," she saw the tightening of Balding Man's lips, "You are a public servant profiteering. Shame on you."

The slap from James was expected, the hold on his backhand wasn't.

"Savoy, leave her. We need to contact our resource in Anonymous. Then get the alien to his keeper."

They left her in the room with Jazz.

He knelt, spoke softly, "Ya need ta get ta the factory. One way or another, love. Get ta China."

Before she could ask, he vanished.

How was she supposed to get to China? She didn't have a passport and the restraints weren't helping.

* * *

Ratchet sat hours after discovering their comrades captured, scowling at the wall for answers.

Waiting for Lockdown to show up or Shiva to explode into violence. At least then he could do something other than wait.

Since the news that Ghost and Flame were captured, Shiva dropped the third person, as if a mask had been stripped from her.

Her sword was in hand continuously, weaving as if she would in an instant swing out. Maggie had drawn most humans away from the upset Fury.

Which amusingly left Crosshairs next to her.

Ratchet figured Jazz would have made a bet on how long it would take for Crosshairs to trigger the femme.

Maggie gave a hmm noise, "Well shelias. Ghost got word out."

"What?" Toolchest demanded, stalking closer.

"Clever, shelia. According to my bloke in Anonymous, one of their known double agents contacted him about his foot soldier who tangled with the CIA. Gave her real name, the fools. Ghost got the message out. My bloke hates the CIA so he's given us the location to hit."

"How can you trust him? He may turn on you," Crosshairs groused.

He yelped at a clang, swearing at Shiva.

"Tell me where to find the goddess Hel," Shiva tapped her sword on her leg.

"Bee, would you help display?" Maggie asked.

He nodded, then showed a 3D of a building.

"The Wind blokes are keeping them here in indefinite holding. Basically they would never get a trial nor see the light of day. Unfortunately, getting them out would be difficult."

"I can get them out," Shiva grinned.

"Shelia," Maggie scowled.

Shiva sulked.

Ratchet adjusted his time estimate for her blow-up.

Optimus reviewed the building, scowling, "Very small for us to use many of our normal tactics. The easier approach for us would be to tear it down."

As they discussed, Ratchet's attention drifted to Ghost and Jazz.

Ghost managed to get word out, like Jazz had directed her like the little fragger he was.

A spy they needed. His smaller size could have helped here.

A dead mech to save the living femmes.

Sighing softly, Ratchet looked down.

Into Shiva's gaze.

"Hel is mistress of the dead. She will not join them now."

"She isn't a goddess," Ratchet countered, "she is flesh, mortal and killable."

Shiva smiled, her headdress glittering in match to her eyes, "Hel will raise the dead to defend her mortal shell. So has Shiva spoken, so shall it be."

Ratchet watched her return to her vehicle, sheathing her sword to pull a dagger for care.

He hoped he was wrong and Shiva right, but he feared the universe was too cruel to allow that.

It had taken Jazz from him after all.

Knowing his luck, the sparkling would be pit spawn, just like Jazz. One more blow to his troubled spark.


	14. Chapter 14

Ghost listened to Jazz singing, breathing in time to his strides around the room, her eyes tracking him.

He paused then smiled, "Sing along, love. Got ta give ya audience a thrill."

She cocked her head, raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sing 'World on Fire' with meh, love."

"Born in ninety one in the native sun," she started, smiling as she recalled the words of her favorite song, "Like a falling star transcending, it had just begun when the west was one, and the olden ways were abandoned, and there was no light and we were ok, and there were machines that'll keep us safe."

Jazz joined her grinning, losing his accent, "And we had our bums, and we had our peace, and were like gods, we were living like kings, in our glory, the eagles flew up, in our glory we gave ourselves a way. We set the world on fire, we set the fire standing right in the middle of it, we let the flames grow higher, we light the world on, we light the world on, we set the world on fire."

The door opened, a visibly shaken James snapping, "Stop it."

Ghost grinned, Jazz laughing the next words, "When the rockets flew, when the bombs, they blew, when we hid away in a canyon, no, we can't pretend, cuz we know our sin, but we just keep taking our chances, and there was no light and we weren't ok, and there are machines here to take our place, and there is no-one, and there is no peace, and we were playing god, we were living like kings, we set the world on fire, we set the fire standing right in the middle of it, we let the flames grow higher, we light the world on, we light the world on fire."

Her eyes narrowed on James, "Who's gonna comfort me? Oh now oh now oh now, who's gonna cry for me? Oh now oh now oh now, when I'm on my knees, calling out, calling out, oh now, who's gonna set me free?"

She stopped singing, glaring defiantly at James, "Til death do we part was meaningless to you. That is why I went to them, James. How does it feel knowing you drove me into their loving arms?"

Balding grabbed James wrist, halting James from drawing the gun.

"We need her as a hostage. Come."

James slammed the door.

"That man spooked when ya sang the same song as Flame, love. He'd jump for meh if Ah had a body," Jazz knelt, faced her, "Be strong, love. Ya be in their power a while longer."

"Power of men have no hold over me," she smiled, "only mechs."

"They know about Cade infiltrating KSI. They are moving their toys ta China."

She wanted to ask why she needed to be in China, but he turned his helm as if listening to someone she couldn't see, grinned.

"Soon, love."

He vanished as a squad of men came in with guns pointed at her.

* * *

Maggie swore, "The blokes are moving."

"Ghost and Flame?" Optimus asked, kneeling.

"Them and KSI's drones," she spat, "Earthpride says they are packing up. He has details for a China flight."

"Hel is going with them," Shiva stood, "Shiva fly her chariot to their hovel."

"I have some ex-military who can help, but we'd have to have passes," Maggie typed furiously, "China won't welcome us with open arms."

Ratchet fondly remembered NEST's ability to go anywhere they wanted and needed without such concerns.

Jazz would have solved it easily, but they didn't have him.

Maggie sat back, then reached into her bag, pulled out a headset, muttering about weird blokes.

Plugging in she typed then waited.

"Earthpride, what the hell bloke? What do you mean you can get me and mine in?"

Ratchet tuned in, noting the other Autobots focused on Maggie.

A guttural voice on par to a Decepticon replied, "You need to get into China to stop them. We are everywhere."

"Why help, bloke? Anon has declare itself non-aligned on this debate."

"Fools in the higher circles. They haven't suffered at the hands of CIA wearing blinders," rage filled the line, "They haven't lost family to CIA goons hunting the gentle and kind."

"Lost me, bloke."

"You heard of Autofans?"

"Early group of Autobot fans, mostly grannies and housekeepers," Maggie sounded cautious, "They went silent after Chicago."

"Silence of the grave, Sinbat," the voice stated with arctic tones, "They were declared by the CIA to be enemies of the state."

Maggie paused, "Mother or grandmother?"

"You figure it out, Sinbat. They called themselves Cemetery Wind when they left."

Maggie closed her eyes, "Earthpride."

"I will get your group to China. CIA crossed them too many times. Take out this cowardly snake's head and lay the dead to rest."

Disconnect signal sounded.

Maggie unplugged.

"This Earthpride, can we trust him?" Drift asked.

Maggie sighed, "I trusted him before this, I'll continue to trust him. We've all been hurt by the Winds. They need to be removed."

Optimus Prime nodded, "How soon will we know we can leave?"

Maggie looked at her computer raised an eyebrow, then clicked something, "Earthpride says we can pick up our passes in an hour."

Ratchet leaned down, "Will Ghost and Flame last long enough for us to reach them?"

"I trained all my Furies in counter interrogation and torture techniques. Flame is more volatile so she may crack first. Ghost," Maggie smiled, "If Jazz stays near her, she has something to focus on. She'd last longer and may turn the tide on the Winds."


	15. Chapter 15

Ghost listened to the grumbling around her, the black bag hiding her face as it did her vision.

Jazz spoke softly, "Headed the right way, love."

Ghost smelled sweat, stale cigarettes, cheap cologne and the hair gel specific to James.

Sitting quietly, knowing guns trained on her every movement, Ghost wondered why she had to be in China. What could possibly be important enough Jazz became more and more lively.

As if he was going home.

His time to cross the river came. His last task must be in China.

A ship? A weapon? Fellow Autobots in hiding? A trap for Lockdown?

Then the men yanked her to her feet, force marching her out into a strong wind.

"Ay'll be burning ya homes and relishing the laments of ya sons," Flame growled.

Ghost heard the whap of flesh on cloth, the cursing from Flame.

Jazz whispered, "Make them squirm, love. Hard if ya can. Work in holoform if ya can"

Ghost snorted, realizing what would get them angry, deepening her voice to sexy rumble, lying with her tone, body and emotions, while praying Ratchet wouldn't hurt her for this blow to his reputation, "I must let Ratchet know to collect handcuffs for next time. I wonder if he'd let me use them on his holoform."

The hands on her elbows loosened as someone muttered, "Sick fucker."

Jazz purred, "Ah love the way ya think. Keep going, love."

Turning her head to that speaker she crooned, "Come now, you've seen their holoforms. Handsome, fit. It's no wonder all the girls want them."

She leaned towards him, "I can tell you from personal," she added a throaty purr to the word, "experience they are very attentive lovers. Much better than men who blow their wad and then expect me to finish myself."

"Trunk?" James asked with rage.

Balding responded, "Yes. I told our resource to meet us. Our targets are on their way. We'll get the Chinese to destroy them then dump these two."

Flame chuckled, raising the hair on Ghost's neck, "Aye, that be relief. Reunited Ay be with meh Ironhide."

Ghost smiled, knowing Flame picked up the game, adding her twist to it.

The hands lifted her, then shoved her into a small space.

Then a second person was added in, swearing in Flame's voice.

With a thunk, the noises outside muffled. An engine started up.

"Seems they be denying the truth, aye?"

Ghost shifted, letting Flame settle a little better, "Very true. If we manage to get out of here with our important bits intact, do you think a sandwich with the twins would be a good idea?"

Flame's smile came through in her voice, "Ay wouldna mind a wee bit of the medic's ministrations. He be known ta wring many a pleasurable time in an hour."

Jazz chuckled, "Ah'll tease him about this. He'd get a kick out of it...in the right mood. Keep going, love."

"If someone was willing to stand out and guard, we could make a nice pile and go all day and night."

Flame quivered a moment as if laughing, then purred, "Aye, ya be missing the last one. They be sorry ya couldna come. This be a plan they'd go fer."

Both continued as they heard increasing shouts and arguing from the outside their enclosed space. Neither was idle as they worked on their cuffs.

* * *

Ratchet felt a tingle up his back struts, almost as if someone was speaking about him. Humans had a similar sensation, but it resulted in sneezing or warm ears.

He never understood those reactions.

The plane they rode in shook violently, as if a Seeker wanted to toss them off.

He missed Ghost's flight. It seemed so smooth and like a spaceship the way she handled her plane.

She handled both her vehicles when she carried passengers with smooth grace.

Sighing, he grumbled over the line to Optimus, "Why are we flying in this pit-sparked vehicle?"

"I miss NEST as well, old friend."

"Humph," Ratchet groused, "If they truly had our skid plates covered, they wouldn't have dissolved."

"Politics rarely follows the right path."

"Amen to that," Beamrider chortled, "Of course if they were headed by women, you'd still be hunting Decepticons side by side with humans."

"Shelias, we are crocheting the scarf," Maggie ordered over the line, making all the femmes tense.

"Really?" Toolchest growled, looking angry.

"Yes, shelias. It's time the murders the Winds caused come to light. Globally."

"The human deaths? Bah!" Crosshairs scoffed.

"No, bloke. The Autobots the Winds killed. Every video they tried to scrub we have. The Furies will descend as Valkyries into the fray along with the populace that never agreed with the politicians. The million man march? It will pale in comparison. The first videos posted twenty minutes ago and has twenty million views. My Furies are preparing their protest signs after seeing the video, makes it clean."

"It makes it look like they reached the last straw. Natural reaction," Tessa perked from where she'd sulked beside her father, "Using social media to spread in a viral trend that will top all the news sites."

"Why spread a viral meme?" Cade asked, "It won't stop them."

"Politics. If every woman takes to the streets after seeing the first video, they will realize how much power the politicians have neglected. Especially poignant for the video we chose, blokes."

Ratchet did a web search, now curious.

He wish he hadn't.

Roadbuster blew away a Decepticon made sure the enemy was dead.

He walked over to a slab, lifted, "Come out, little ones. Safe with ol' Autobot Roadbuster."

Dirty children crawled out of the space he opened, followed by a couple shaky teenagers.

"He killed our teachers," a girl looked around, shacking visibly, "He killed them."

Roadbuster set down the slab, nodded grimly, "He will never hurt anyone, again. You have my word as a Wrecker."

Then a shot pierced his amor, whirling him.

Ratchet recognized Cemetery Wind's vehicles sweeping in as Roadbuster tried to shelter the children, his blaster blown from his hand the next moment.

"Children, run!"

As the children tried to escape, Cemetery Wind chipped pieces off Roadbuster, laying the Wrecker low.

Ratchet swallowed his illness as he watched Lockdown stalk up to the Wrecker, demand to know where Optimus was.

In the background the children and teens were collected, guns pointed at them.

He hoped the good will of humanity saved the children, but Maggie's words earlier dispelled his hope.

Lockdown took Roadbuster's spark, taking it into his arm, then looked at the children, "They served their purpose."

In seconds an order was given and guns blazed.

Ratchet stopped the video, noted it was at sixty million views, the comments rage filled.

Humans killed their own children.

Curling as best he could around his chest, he wondered if his sparkling would be welcomed, or one more victim.

A caress across his hood made him shiver, the ghostly sensation tinged with Jazz.

Keep the faith, Ratchet felt in that touch.


	16. Chapter 16

Flame beat her in getting out of the cuffs, but Ghost didn't mind. They each had skills. The hoods were left in case someone came to check on them.

Flame gripped her hand, squeezed, using Morse code to convey her message.

"When do we kick them in the arse?"

Ghost grinned in the darkness, signaled back, "Jazz says we need to get to the factory in China. He's insistent. Something big is going down there."

"Tell the ghost to be more specific."

"Tell the spy to spill his secrets?"

Ghost could feel the disappointment in Flame and the embarrassment, "Point. What are we going to do?"

"Pretend we are sleeping. They may assume we are weak women to sleep so easily, or deeply."

"Easy enough. Had to do it with my ex to get him to stop pestering me about my accent."

"He's a fool."

Jazz's visor seemed to lighten to space between her face and the bag, without crowding her.

He grinned, "Ladies. The party will start soon. They are joining up ta snag Prime, love."

She whispered, "Why? And for what, Jazz?"

"Humans want ta own a Seed. Bad juju, a Seed in human hands. Make ya atomic bombs look like firecrackers, love. Megatron want ta use it on the largest city."

Ghost sneered, "I will not let that happen."

Jazz grinned, "Then wait for the dance ball ta light up, love."

He vanished.

Ghost relayed the conversation to Flame.

"We prevent them from getting the Seed," Flame started firmly in Morse code.

The car jerked to a stop.

"Sleep. Just in case," Ghost ordered.

Closing her eyes, Ghost laid against Flame, waiting for the next blow.

Only no one opened the trunk, or did anything.

"Waiting sucks," Flame coded.

"We are patient. We know how to lie in wait better than greedy, rushing men."

"True."

They napped as time slipped by, resting until they could act.

* * *

Ratchet rolled down to the tarmac, grumbling to himself.

Optimus rolled around to come along side him.

"Problem, old friend?"

Huffing Ratchet sank on his wheels, "Remembering meeting Jazz for the first time, the slagging glitch."

"Oh?" Optimus asked as the humans loaded up, getting directed through customs.

"He came up to me after an extensive and futile surgery. I was gruff, snarky, and mean. He said in his positive and annoying way, 'Ya did good in there, lover.' I blew a gasket, told him off for calling me lover and listing everything I could have tried to succeed. He just smiled, listened to me until I stomped off."

Optimus asked, "That started your romance?"

Ratchet pondered a moment, "Yeah. I would have over-energized to forget my failure, but that night, I didn't need it. I was, as the humans say, lit like a Roman candle. So focused on Jazz being an upstart fragger, I didn't feel terrible about losing my patient. I realized I did everything I was allowed, and the other paths were experimental at best. He kicked me out of wallowing."

"He was very good at that. He often kicked Prowl and myself out of our stupors after disastrous missions."

Ratchet chuckled, "He never called you an endearment, only a nickname, Optimus."

"True."

Ratchet fell back in time.

Jazz twirled around, walked backwards after a debriefing early in the war.

"So, lover, what ta do now?"

Ratchet grumbled, "I have inventory to take and stop calling me that."

Jazz stopped, leaned into Ratchet's space, "Never wandered in Crystal City?"

"Why would that matter?" after Jazz's broadened smirk, "No, I was due to do rounds before this pit-spawned war broke out."

Jazz put a servo on his arm, stretched up pressing his helm to Ratchet's audial.

"We don't call anyone less than our intended two love or lover," Jazz settled back, grinning up at Ratchet, "I may seem like a mech to jump from berth to berth, but that is a mask. Are you willing to dive beneath the surface, lover?"

Ratchet smiled in his processor at the memory as he cursed the little spy for taking his sweet time telling him such important information.

However it was so like a spy to not let their target know they were under attack until after it was too late.

Working a path into his spark, in two ways.

He sent a pulse of love to the tiny life formed from the love he and Jazz shared.

As he followed Optimus to the road, Ratchet thought it a pity Jazz never found that second love while alive.


	17. Chapter 17

"Can you reach my foot? It's cramping," Flame pressed on Ghost's hand.

Ghost wrapped her hand around the ankle digging into her hip, massaged.

The car had been driven to six locations, waking them from their naps.

They'd continued their stories of "personal experiences" with the Autobots, though no one came to shut them up. They turned up the sound system to drown out their banter.

"What does the ghost say?"

"Nothing yet," Ghost replied, wanting Jazz back.

The sitting still was getting to her.

They shifted, stretched as best they could, but it was frustrating to lay there and think on the horrors these men could visit upon them.

They knew every inch of the trunk, including where the emergency latch was.

At least they could escape the trunk, but their enemies' guns that would cut short any attempt to leave.

The Jazz appeared before her face, "Get the hoods off. Ya going ta get out soon, love."

Ghost frowned, but relayed the message to Flame, "How, Jazz?"

"The Winds can't deliver the goods, love. Lockdown will not exchange unless he has Prime. Megatron is gonna revolt soon ta get the Seed. When he does ya'll have the factory ta yaself."

Pulling the hood off, Ghost asked, "When?"

An explosion sounded, then screams.

"Go, Love."

"Now!" Ghost grabbed the emergency latch pulled.

The trunk popped opened, Flame not wasting time as she rolled out. Flame grabbed Ghost's arm, hauled her up.

They stood beside a building, the factory.

Jazz pointed to a closed door, "Here, love."

Stumbling to the door, Flame following, Ghost asked, "What now, Jazz?"

"Wait for the fearful, love."

The door slammed open, catching her on her bad leg, making her grab the door edge to keep standing. Her vision spotted, then cleared slowly as a hand helped her stay on her feet.

Blinking, Ghost looked at Flame, "I'll need a minute."

Flame nodded to the stream of fleeing workers in white painter coveralls, her brogue gone, "The river of scared civilians is stronger than us two."

Jazz vanished, explosions keeping them company as the flood petered off.

The throbbing in her leg threatened to lay her out, but she gritted through it. She knew what a crushed leg felt like and this wasn't close. She'd bear it.

The explosions slowly died away, the last of the fleeing civilians tapering to none.

Jazz reappeared, "All clear, love. Megs has left the building."

Ghost took a step, growling through the pain, "Next time a heads up on fleeing people would be nice."

He nodded, acknowledging her words, "Sorry, love, but we don't have a lot of time."

"What is so important, Jazz?" stepping slowly into the tunnel, grateful for the lighted path, "Why are we here?"

"Ta bring down Megatron once and for all, love," Jazz danced ahead of them, "Ta make the future safe for meh sparkling and lover."

Ghost sighed, "What do we need to do here to ensure Megatron stays dead?"

"This way, love."

"Megatron is alive?" Flame snarled.

"Yes. Jazz says he was here, but has since taken off to bring in Prime and hand him over to Lockdown. In exchange, Lockdown will give Megatron a bomb that makes ours pale by comparison."

Flame huffed, "One of our men wanted it?"

"The Winds must have been working towards the goal this entire time. That's why they attacked all the Autobots," Ghost swore, "That is why Lockdown worked with them. He used the Autobot's reticence concerning harming humans to his favor. The bastard."

They stepped into the factory floor.

Jazz pointed to a computer terminal, "This one, love."

Flame stood at Ghost's side as she leaned over the terminal, frowning at the Chinese characters, "I can't read this, Jazz."

"No need, love. Just type this," he pointed to keys with a finger tip.

Bending to the difficult task of typing the keys he wanted, she wondered what the screen was saying.

Tapping the enter key, she looked up at Jazz.

To find he was gone.

"Ja..."

"Galvatron will be glad to know I killed you little things."

She turned slowly.

Flame had her hands up already, face glowering up at a cannon wielding Cybertronian.

* * *

Ratchet swore as he stood behind a building, taking cover from a blast as the human femmes took shots at the attacking mechs.

Lockdown, his crew and a group of Cybertronians that he didn't recognize lead the assault on them, pinning them in the middle of the city.

The new group seemed to be more adept and had better firepower. Like they hadn't been fighting for millennia with broken supply lines.

Mikeala pointed out one that looked like a human copy, cursing KSI.

Prime fired, blowing away one of the copies, then scrambled to new cover, Toolchest giving him covering fire with a grenade launcher.

Shiva knelt down, set-up a nasty large rifle pointed down the street, then fired.

The boom from it deafened his audials as it hit one of Lockdown's flunkies, instantly turning the mech's chest into molten metal.

Ratchet picked her up, turned and tossed her at the perfect angle and speed to get her clear.

She'd have road rash but would live.

The building exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere like a shotgun blast.

Ratchet pulled his long range rifle, fired three bursts, driving back Lockdown and two copies.

He ran, ducking down an alley as Shiva ran down another nearer to her.

They needed aerial cover or something to keep the enemy from their flanks.

"Prime!"

The voice couldn't be on this side of the Matrix.

Ratchet turned as one of the copies slammed Prime down, pinned him with an all too familiar smirk.

Megatron. Alive.

Ratchet fired, shocked when Megatron split into thousands of parts and flowed around the building out of sight.

Ratchet ran to Prime, hauled him to his pedes then pulled him into motion, "We shouldn't be fighting ghosts as well."

Prime sprinted, "That is how the humans could make copies. He gave them the knowledge so he could return. He must have lingered to gain a new body."

Ratchet wished Jazz would return. This would be a good moment for reinforcements.

Then they ran into a building, rejoining the rest of the Autobots and Maggie's Depths Furies minus the missing Flame. Cade's group had made it. Not Mikeala though.

None of Ghost's team had made it to the location.

Drift peeked out, pulled back, "They have us surrounded on this side."

"Frag, same here," Crosshairs snarled, "I don't want to die here for this dirt ball. We should just leave it to it's fate. I'm tired of being the underdog," he turned to Optimus, "What's your call, Prime?"

Optimus asked Maggie, "Can you get a line to Prowl, Maggie?"

"They are blocking us. Looks like a localized jamming. No signal out," Maggie took a weapon from one of the Furies, looked up with resignation, "We'll stand with you to the end, Optimus Prime."

The Depths Furies armed, faces grim with the will to fight to the end.

"Prime," Lockdown's voice boomed clearly, "Surrender yourself and your human allies will be allowed to live."

"Why do you want me, Lockdown? Who would pay your price to come after me? The Decepticons?"

"Your creators wish to sweep their chessboard clean. You are the last one towards this goal," Lockdown stated calmly.

Optimus locked gazes with Maggie.

"Don't do it, bloke. I got a feeling there's more to this than he's saying."

Ratchet knew if Jazz was here, he'd say something to keep Optimus from making the honorable decision.

"I'll give you two human hours to answer, Prime. We'll just shoot the human flyers from the sky in the meantime," Lockdown coldly added.

Ratchet put a servo on Prime's shoulder, "He won't let us live. You know that, Optimus."


	18. Chapter 18

Ghost swallowed facing the Cybertronian with dignity. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her fear and dread.

Behind him, the assembly line rattled as it finished the latest vehicle.

A truck type. Pure black.

It split into thousands of cubes then reformed into a new Cybertronian.

The one they faced turned to the new comer, "Let's kill these pests. Megatron wishes no one to disturb this factory."

The new one cycled up two sets of weapons, it's blue optics weighing them.

Then casually and gracefully turned and blew away the other's helm.

"You should ask a femme to show your cannons, slagger."

It couldn't be.

"Ironhide!" Flame shouted in glee.

He did something and reconfigured into his familiar shape, "I got this. Get to Prime. Stall Lockdown anyway you can. Prowl, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and Arcee need an hour to arrive."

"On it," Flame turned and raced out the side entrance.

Ghost took a step to follow, then looked up at Ironhide, "That is what Jazz meant. Many of you were waiting to step back from the other side of the river."

"Go on femme commander. Your Prime needs you," Ironhide grinned as vehicles rolled off the assembly line, "Give us the opening."

She ran, ignoring the jarring pain in her knee, gripping the joint to keep it from buckling.

Flame pulled to a stop with a semi, yelling, "Get in Ghost. This has a CB if you can find any one on an open channel."

Ghost hauled herself up, gritting through agony, sat and buckled in, "On it, Flame."

"I don't have anything for the pain," Flame put the semi into gear.

"I'll grit and bear it," Ghost spun dials, listening in the channels she knew for the codes words.

Then a familiar voice was casually describing, "The cook in my kitchen is so rage filled I have to eat it or sleep on the couch."

Toolchest. Saying the enemy was strong and she needed reinforcements.

Picking up the radio Ghost spoke softly, "Come to my place. I'll cook a happy filled meal."

"Bring your cooking stuff to my friend's place in downtown," Toolchest rattled off a location.

She looked at the GPS, then Flame, "You know Chinese?"

"Enough for GPS. Take the wheel."

Ghost gripped the wheel, keeping them steady as Flame typed in the address.

It took precious minutes to redirect as they'd been headed the wrong damn way.

"In route, but I'm missing a saucepan. You have a large one?" Ghost asked if they had weapons on hand.

"Stocked. I'll keep the cook busy for fifty minutes."

Flame snarled, "We got forty minutes just to get close. If they are fighting, we will have to run in."

Ghost winced down at her throbbing knee, "We get there, one way or another."

* * *

Ratchet watched Optimus weigh plans, expression growing grimmer by the minutes.

The Furies were in position to defend the building, some having snuck up the floors to higher positions.

They were coming up on an hour, the silence outside oppressive.

They hadn't heard explosions yet, so hopefully the military was holding back.

China officials were usually the smarter bunch when they worked with NEST. They must be waiting for a good strike.

The sparkling in him whirled uneasily.

Ratchet sent a pulse to the new life, soothing it even as his agitation grew.

If they had Ironhide with his cannons, Hound and him could have taken the entire enemy force easily. Jazz would have circled around the enemy to find a strike at their back.

Pit, even Prowl would have helped, maybe causing a cascade in the buildings to give them a chance to defeat the enemy struggling with treacherous footing.

Ghost would have been welcomed assistance, but she was still in the hands of Cemetery Wind. With Flame.

He was certain Lockdown wouldn't release them. They may die at the hands of the disreputable human mechs before they could shine.

"One hour left, Prime," Lockdown smugly informed them.

Prime covered his faceplates wearily, "I can see only one option. I will surrender. You all make for new cover and escape."

"That's the wrong decision, Prime. We don't have a space ship to follow you," Ratchet argued, angry and frustrated, "Prowl and his team may be on their way. We need to give them a chance."

Maggie echoed it, "Ghost's team is out there, so is Mikeala. They can turn the tide. They have unique plans that none of the blokes know about and can implement. Give them time."

"Without Ghost, how is her team to proceed?" Optimus shook his helm, "They followed her orders. They do not have the same level of experience and insight."

Maggie swore, "Shiva doesn't show her skills. She by herself could turn this. She just needs a trigger. Hell, bloke, this standoff may be enough for it. Don't rush into their net. We still have fighters and planners who can pull this off."

Optimus sighed, "I will see no more human life extinguished over me. Get Cade and his family to safety. Protect them."

He turned to the exit.

Ratchet stepped forward and applied one of his last sleep codes, setting it to forty minutes.

Optimus staggered, went to his knee assemblies, "Ratchet?"

"Rest for forty minutes, Prime. You'll need it when you surrender. I doubt Lockdown will allow you peace," Ratchet helped Prime to laying.

"Cold, Ratchet," Crosshairs grumbled, "What are we going to fo for forty minutes?"

"Maggie, is there a way to send a signal out through some other means?"

She turned to a Fury beside her, "Tell the upper floors to flash light, morse code. See if we have Furies watching outside their lines."

The Fury raced up the stairs.

Ten minutes ticked by, then the Fury returned.

"Ghost's team and Mikeala are outside. Ghost is free."

"Free how?" Maggie asked.

"The ghost led ghost."

"Jazz," Ratchet hoped Jazz had a plan and Ghost could execute it.

"How far out?" Maggie requested.

"Arriving on foot, five minutes."

Ratchet prayed she could run long enough to save Prime from capture and torture.


	19. Chapter 19

Ghost limped into the building where her team waited, breathing hard.

Toolchest immediately pulled her down, injected something that took the pain away.

Then shoved up the pants to strap on a knee brace, "Won't help a lot but could keep you moving, Ghost."

"Status?" Ghost asked Shiva.

"The fake gods have the True God surrounded," Shiva swung her blade, "The lights of Fury give Shiva no hope of freedom for the True God."

"Optimus is in a bind. How much time do they have?"

"Thirty to forty minutes," Beamrider stepped over, showed a tablet with a view, "This is the closest my drones can get before entering the silent zone and crashing."

Lockdown stood with another behind cover. A building was in the center of the circle of enemies. Where her Prime was trapped.

Something about the other Cybertrionian's stance told her who he was. The stance she remembered from him standing on a building right before tearing Jazz apart.

"Megatron," she pointed, "He's somehow revived himself. That's him."

"Damn," Toolchest snapped, "How do we put him down for good?"

Ghost frowned, running down all plans Maggie and her brain cell had created.

Distraction was the best.

Give more time for reinforcements to arrive from Ironhide's position and Prowl's team to get to the scene.

"We have a line to Police Cruiser and his group?" She asked.

"They are tied up just outside the airport. Trying to get through, but they are trying not to show the flag yet," Beamrider switched to another view.

Ghost saw the car jam, estimated only planning could come from Prowl's side, no fighters.

Flame gripped Ghost's shoulder, "Only one plan."

"The Singing Valkyries," Ghost looked at Flame saw she'd come to the same conclusion.

"We may have the weapons, but they won't let us close enough," Dee and Dum chimed.

Ghost smiled, "We are just human females to them. They have absorbed all the literature and media which says we are only good enough to bear children and take care of the home. Let's remind them that in those instances women and femmes take the field, we are underestimated and overlooked. We'll show them our flames and fury. Open a line to all Furies in the area, including those still in the shadows," Ghost looked at Flame, "I may need to have your strength to carry me into this battle, Flame."  
Flame smirked, "I could carry three of you easily, Ghost. Too thin."

"All of you, choose your songs. They may be your last," Ghost looked at Shiva said the words to let the Fury shine, "My lovely goddess Shiva. Come fight by my side with your rage."

Shiva's smile was beautiful, "My pleasure, Goddess Hel, Goddess Sekhmet."

The goddess of death and the goddess of sun. Apt for her and Flame.

"Online at your command, Ghost," Dee and Dum replied handing over a radio headset.

Pulling it on, Ghost sat straight, "Furies of Earth."

No more code words, no more hiding.

"We descend upon the unhonorable ones and strip them from our world. Flare wings and take up your spears. We sing into battle and beat down our enemy. Ghost and Flame lead the charge," She relayed where she was starting the march, "We fill the skies."

Ghost looked at Flame, her voice rising into the first song, "I use to be a flower in the back row, Never was a homecoming queen just a shadow."

Flame smirked, doing a different song, tapping her hands on her thighs, "Wake up with the fear of living for another day."

Ghost stood, gritting back pain as she stalked to the weapon chest, her words rising as over the radio, more voices joining in.

Each song different, each with it's own beats.

Yet underneath was the pulse of humanity. The flow and change of so many unique individuals into a concert of life.

* * *

Ratchet helped Optimus to stand, knowing his leader was very angry with him.

"You should not have wasted that on me, Ratchet," Optimus chided gently.

Before he could respond, one of the Furies from the upper level rushed to Maggie, "The Singing Valkyries has been triggered."

"Who started it and how close are they?" Maggie asked.

"Ghost and Flame. They are a few blocks away. If you listen you can hear them rising in volume."

Cade asked, "What is the Singing Valkyries?"

"Every Fury sings a song personal to them, or a series of songs. Each unique song blends into the whole and is disorienting to others who aren't use to hearing so many overlapping songs together, bloke."

Tessa excitedly asked, "How do they resist singing the same song as the person beside them? How do they ignore the whole when fighting?"

"They are trained. We record each song individually then merge them electronically. Each session they sing their songs until they can sing theirs without stuttering or slipping."

Ratchet tuned his audials as did all the Cybertronians to the growing voices.

Alerts flashed across his processor as the sounds were analyzed, set into a pattern that he recognized as Cybertrion sparkbeat, but not like any he'd worked on.

"Unicron," The warnings finally stated, sending panic through him.

"It cannot be," Optimus whispered, "How is it possible?"

Maggie looked up, "What's wrong, bloke?"

Optimus glanced over all the shaken Autobots, then knelt, "We can see patterns that you have not discovered yet. The flow and beat of all those voices together are mirroring to the last microsecond the spark pulse of Unicron, the destroyer. He stands opposite Primus's focus on creation. How does humanity know this pattern?"

"I don't know, bloke. This is a scare tactic me and my Thoughtful Furies put together. Men are use to hearing one song as the enemy takes the field, like a bagpipe or drums. If each Fury sings their own song, mixing together, it causes confusion to those not trained to ignore it. If Ghost has ordered it, she's marching in to give us an opening."

"She knows I do not call for her life in exchange of mine," Optimus's optics flickered, "I would never ask that of her."

Maggie laughed, "Bloke, she's a woman and femme. She'll do what she feels is right, like we all have in gathering support for you. Have you thought maybe Jazz is telling her to set this in motion?"

"To what purpose would the death of so many strong women serve?" Optimus stood, "No, I will not have them die for me."

Ratchet gripped Optimus' shoulder, "Give her this moment. Give her the chance to keep you free, Optimus. As soon as you are clear of this building, Lockdown could just level it, leaving you alone and us dead."

Ratchet finally picked out Ghost's voice in the middle of the choir, the pain in it worrying him as she sang "according to you I'm difficult, hard to please, forever changing my mind."

"Ghost is leading this charge. You let Ultra Magnus and Bluestreak lead the fatal charge on Cybertron. Will you do less for these allies, Optimus?" Ratchet knew it was a low blow, but he was right.

Soldiers fought the hardest when they followed orders with all their sparks, accomplishing the impossible even as they fell.

Optimus bowed his helm, "One more Autobot is all we needed to save them."

"Ironhide?" Ratchet asked.

"Jazz. He could have made them tumble and fall," Optimus' gaze seemed focus on some unseen distance, "How many human femmes are worth ours, Ratchet?"

Maggie shouted, "All of us are worth it, Optimus! Get that through your helm, bloke. We are one. We stand with you. We all knew the risks just like each time we get into a car or enter a grocery store. We can die at anytime, any moment. We are choosing our moment to stand with you against those who let fear and greed rule them."

The Fury that brought the message stood straight, "Permission to join the Singing Valkyries, Cybercat?"

"Granted," Maggie smiled, "You may want to tune us out, Optimus, blokes. We are joining in. Let's see if the mechs out there react, eh?"

Ratchet listened to each song starting up the building, and felt fear.

How had these wonderful humans hit Unicron's spark beat exactly? Had the Cube changed them into smaller versions of the destroyer? Had Megatron's stolen technology infected all their minds?

Shivering, he stared at Optimus, seeing the same concerns in his optics.


	20. Chapter 20

Ghost turned into the road leading to Lockdown and Megatron reborn.

She strode beside Flame and Shiva.

Shiva held her sword up, eyes glowing as she sang "Hot Hot Hot," gleefully.

Flame's words flowed with her brogue.

Hundreds of voices gathered around them as the Furies marched down the street, facing their enemy.

Praying this worked, Ghost sang about the rejection from James, "According to you, I'm boring, I'm moody."

She couldn't hear the words of Lockdown and Megatron as they turned to the femmes, smirking.

Then oddly, they seemed struck dumb by something.

Ghost refused to let up, her knee begging for her to stop as she closed the distance to the two.

More voices joined theirs from all sides, other commanders leading their divisions from all over the city to the battle.

Glaring at Lockdown, she told him with her eyes that they were surrounded now, her words tumbling into the crowd.

Then she spotted James near Lockdown with Baldy and a group of Cemetery Winds.

She changed her song, taking on the more violent words, "Put on your war paint. You are a brick tied to me that's dragging me down."

Flame changed her song as well, "Left me alone in the dark, how dare you!"

The tone of the songs rippled, responding to the shift into battle beats.

James shouted something but it was drowned out by the Singing Valkyries.

Lockdown shook off whatever startled him, then pointed, his voice rising briefly over the waves of song, "Kill them all!"

Shiva howled her words, accelerating forward, jagged pain lancing upward.

Ghost sent an apology to Jazz as they burst into a run.

If they could distract these enemies long enough with fighting, there was a chance reinforcements would arrive.

The flunkies turned, brought up their weapons, powering them up for death.

Ghost screamed, raising the gesture for the snipers to begin, "So come on, Put on your war paint!"

The flunkies were blinded or shot dead from those best with long distance weapons, the sound of the shots adding to the songs.

Lockdown's surprise contrasted with Megatron's bellow.

Then out of a narrow side alley two Cybertronians burst into motion, executing an extremely sharp corner as it it was a straightway before racing at the enemy line.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.

Law enforcement siren's joined the song, almost saying they were righteous as Prowl appeared firing rockets from his shoulders.

Arcee's three components popped out of no where and began cutting down the flunkies from behind.

It was time to end it.

* * *

Ratchet followed Crosshairs out of the building as the Autobots and Depths Furies launched the attack.

Optimus slammed into Megatron, carrying them both into and through a building.

Crosshairs laughed as he blasted away, his smile insane.

Ratchet caught sight of another crazed fighter, glimpsing Shiva weaving through the Cybertronians with her swords, the blades slicing the delicate wires between the plates, her song rising with laughter and bloodthirstiness.

Ratchet fired at one of the copies, brought it down and Bumblebee launched at another, a red version that looked oddly like him.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker came down on their opponents as Ghost's team leapt into the battle.

Dee and Dum shot point blank with something that splattered the joints of their opponents.

Ratchet saw the goo solidify and slow the joint mechanisms. Between them and the twins, they were taking down a lot of soldiers.

Twisting, avoiding a blast to his chassis, Ratchet brought his saw blade down on the arm, severing the limb off.

Where was Ghost?

He couldn't see her as Arcee leapt onto a large Cybertronian and proceed to tear the plates apart with savage fury.

Ratchet turned, saw Optimus go flying, Megatron following.

He took a step to go to Optimus' aid.

He felt metal tap his helm. Looking sideways he knew not to move. Lockdown held a blaster on him, threatening him with death.

"Your spark was to be recovered as it has a new life attached to it," Lockdown smirked, "Pity you fought."

"Hey, flunky," Ghost's shout cut through the battle, "You should finish what you started with me."

Lockdown looked sideways, "Human filth."

Ghost's face was crossed with lines, the agony in each furrow, but she stood there, no weapon in hand, "Pit spawned slagger of a fragger."

Ratchet stared at her as he realized she never had heard that deadly insult from him.

It was Jazz's favorite for inciting an attack.

Lockdown pulled another weapon, pointed it at the fragile human femme, "Cemetery Wind should have killed you."

"Your side shouldn't have taken my children!" The warrior shout challenged Lockdown, "Your side should have left my world alone. Join Jazz in the Matrix. Should have checked your back, Lockdown."

Ratchet covered his chassis, closing his optics realizing what she'd done.

The explosion knocked him off his pedes.

He blinked, rolled gingerly to his side.

Lockdown's helm bounced by, shock frozen on his faceplates.

"Ratchet!"

Ghost ran to him, touched his chassis, concerned, "The sparkling?"

Before he could assure her it was unharmed, a copy rose above her, bringing down a blade.

He reached out his arm, knowing it wouldn't save her.

Then something slammed into the copy, flinging it sideways, the blade missing Ghost by several feet.

A giant beast bellowed a challenge, stomped behind Ghost who turned.

"Miss meh, lover?"

Ratchet couldn't believe his optics.

Jazz was riding the trihorned beast like a human on a horse.

"Jazz? Where in the pit have you been!" Ratchet found himself shouting.

"Bringing the rain, lover," Jazz pointed.

Long fallen Autobots were charging into combat: Ironhide, Ultra Magnus, Bluestreak, the rest of Arcee's femme unit including Elita One, Flamestar and Chromia.

"You have dinosaurs, Jazz?" Ghost asked looking baffled, "Why haven't we had them in the field before?"

Jazz's grin widened, "Ah had ta break them out of Lockdown's slammer, love."

Ratchet felt the world fall from under him.

Had Jazz just called Ghost an endearment?

"Let's finish this," Jazz directed the trihorn Cybertronian to a group of copies, "Meh money's on meh big friend here."

Ratchet jerked, "Optimus!"

Only to see Megatron fleeing from Ironhide or someone that looked like Ironhide.

He gathered Ghost to his chassis, then stumbled for cover.

His processor couldn't take much more.


	21. Chapter 21

Hours later Ghost admitted running on her bad knee was a really bad idea.

It was swollen horribly and she couldn't move it at all without swallowing screams.

The battle had turned quickly when Jazz's team, Prowl's team and the Dinobots joined the fray.

There were broken bones, burns, gashes but no deaths among the Furies.

Like a deity had smiled down on them and told them, "Cut loose, my girls. I got your back."

She sat on a delivery truck roof as Ratchet examined her knee, his scowl deepening.

"You will take years to recover from this," Ratchet straightened, "How was running into a battle a good idea?"

She smiled, fighting back the pain so it wasn't in her face, "To save you, I would suffer a hundred years of recovery, Ratchet."

He growled, "Your knee will need surgery and more physical therapy. If I had First Aid, I could accomplish this with better success but…"

"Hey, lover," Jazz danced up with a new Cybertrionian, "Look who ah found waiting on this side of the Matrix."

Ratchet's expression softened, "First Aid? I hadn't known you gone offline."

"No one did," First Aid gripped forearms with Ratchet, "Got tortured by Shockwave, then offlined in secret when his experiments failed. What is needed to put your femme back together?"

Jazz leaned on the trailer, "How ya doing, love?"

"Tired and hurting, Jazz. It's over at least," she watched the Chinese police collect James, Baldy and Flame's ex whose name evaded her attempts to recall.

They would be imprisoned for their crimes against China and if she had her way, Earth.

Jazz smiled, gestured, "Ya have a place in the history books, love."

"Maggie is the leader of the Furies. I'm just a commander," she spotted Maggie with some very powerful looking officials, talking animatedly, "She has that place in history."

"Love, ya got several winning pictures that will sit side by side with the chapter on Furies."

Following his gesture, she blinked at the photographer who was snapping pictures of their group, "I don't need notoriety, Jazz."

"Ya getting it, love," he leaned in, "Besides, love, ya got a meeting at the UN ta attend with ya femme leader."

"I do? When?" Ghost wanted to hide her face and the horrible scars.

"When ya can get a change of clothes and fly there. May be easier as ah got Lockdown's spaceship," Jazz smirked, "Ah think more than one group of human and cybertronians want some private time."

Ghost had to admit Flame and Ironhide were practically sitting on Optimus Prime so he didn't ruin the repair Ratchet made on his arms and shoulders. Megatron had been attempting to pull both arms off when Ironhide and Flame drove him back.

Watching them, she had a feeling that Flame's words in the trunk would be proven true as she sat on Optimus' knee and talked with him, Ironhide standing guard.

Scanning the groups, she wondered how bad the combination of Dee and Dum with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker would be. They needed good publicity, not pranks and explosions.

Shiva and Crosshairs were comparing notes, though she couldn't hear what about. Could be enemies killed or recipes for food. She never could guess with Shiva outside combat.

Drift chatted with Beamrider, Toolchest and Hound. Hound looked odd without the armory's worth of weapons and ammunition on him. Mentally she noted they'd need to resupply him.

"Megatron?" She asked, trying to recall if he'd been killed, again.

"This time for good, love. Ah had friends with pull ta keep him in the Matrix until he forgets this life," Jazz tapped her uninjured knee gently, "Thank ya, for saving lover and meh sparkling."

"You don't need to thank me for that, Jazz. I would have done it anyway."

"Ya get ta see them first when they separate."

"You and Ratchet should be first, Jazz," she flinched as her knee throbbed bitterly.

"Ya are gonna see them first, love."

Ghost laughed, "Knowing how persistent you can be, alright, I'll see them when they join us on this side of the river."

"Shelia?" Maggie called, "We are boarding for the UN. What do you need from home?"

Ghost looked at her knee, knew she'd have to wear a specific outfit since it was the only one she had that could hide the swollen mess of her knee, "Navy blue box, top of closet. Should have the words 'Military Twenty Twenty' on the side."

Jazz purred, "Ya chosing that for ya debut, love?"

"It's the only thing that is formal and hides my knee and knee brace," she looked up nervously at Ratchet's scowl, "Maybe add more physical therapy time to secure our position in society."

"You are as bad as Optimus. He'll be insisting on the same," Ratchet huffed, "I take it you will have to be standing."

"Yes," she replied, not looking forward to the next few days.

* * *

A week later, Ratchet stood in the base the Furies had built on an island Maggie owned.

It was comfortable for Cybertronians and enabled humans to speak with them from balconies and walkways that looked more apart of a home than a military base.

The luxuries they had assembled made Ratchet feel old.

He couldn't sleep on the berth yet despite the wonderful comfort the femmes had put into it.

The solar collectors worked long hours to give them plenty of fuel and more was shipped in from the various small producers so they were well stocked.

Ghost was due in from the UN meetings along with Maggie, Flame, Optimus, Prowl, Ironhide, Arcee and Jazz.

The sparkling zipped around in excitement that drained Ratchet. Thank Primus Jazz had returned. The sparkling would terrorize the spy instead of him nice it separated from him.

"Prime One inbound," Beamrider alerted the base.

Ratchet walked to the runway, waited to the side.

Elita One joined him, "Your femme is quite the commander."

"She is also wounded and hurting," He grumbled, "I'm betting Jazz did nothing to help that."

"Arcee says that if Jazz had done what he did in one of the human hotels, there would be a scandal."

Ratchet looked at Elita One, several horrible thoughts crossing his processor, especially as he'd called Ghost 'love', "Willing to share?"

The video was Arcee walking beside Drift, discussing improvements to the Singing Valkyries formation and reduce their negative reaction.

"Ahhh," Ghost moaned.

Jazz's murmur would have been lost on human hearing, "Love, ya feet look really tense."

"Even with flat heels, ohhhh, my knee and hips aren't helping bear the weight. Ahhhh, right there."

Arcee peeked into a room, saw Jazz's hologram rubbing Ghost's feet as she lounged on his vehicle form's hood.

"Ya looked strong, love. Though, lover won't like ya knee when he sees it," Jazz changed feet.

"Need to ensure the men never mess with this alliance again, mmmmm," Ghost sighed in relief, "A strong presentation helps. Especially as Flame and I wore complimentary uniforms. We liked the same tailor. I enjoy finding out more things we have in common."

Ratchet looked at Elita One as the spaceship hovered to a stop, "The human mechs would have tore them apart in the media."

"They will once Jazz gets to his strike."

"Does every mech and femme know about Crystal City before me?" Ratchet lamented.

Elita One chuckled, "Ghost doesn't know."

"Not encouraging. She could back-pedal. We are an entirely different species."

Elita One leaned into him, "She's a strong femme. Treat her like one. You do remember that upgrade Perceptor gave all of us, right?"

Ratchet knew which "upgrade" she was referring to.

Trust the scientist to develop and deploy technology to have children with other species before considering the implications. To have it adopted through the entire race also because it increased the efficiency of working on worlds not built for their vehicle or mech formats. It was the reason they had holoforms.

The ramp extended down and Prowl exited first. Then Optimus drove out, followed by Ironhide and Jazz. Arcee brought up the rear for the Autobots.

Ratchet's scowl deepened when he saw Ghost limping slowly down the ramp with Flame bracing her.

Until her outfit registered along with Flame's.

"I didn't show you this earlier. I wanted you to see her uniform first," Elita One sent him a second video, again marked from Arcee's view.

Maggie sitting with calm expression as she introduced the holoform versions of the autobots, "Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, his second in command, Prowl, third in command, Jazz, weapon specialist Ironhide, and Arcee representing Femme Command."

"Femme command? I thought they were all male," an older general scoffed.

Maggie ignored him, "For the Furies, I am the leader known as Cybercat, on my right is Flame, commander of the Depth division. Think special forces for those blokes who are slow on the uptake," Flame stepped closer to the light and shined with confidence.

A hip length brocade jacket paired with loose pants in dark red with orange embroidery made her look powerful and someone no one should mess with. Her hat had embellishments that looks like the finials on Optimus Prime's helm. Her boots were a dark red matching her jacket. Her shoulders bore rank symbols with no match in any database for Earth. A patch with crossed spears with wings looked like a group patch.

Like NEST, once upon a time.

Maggie turned to the left, "My third in command, Ghost. Commander of extraction teams."

No sign of pain showed on her face as she stepped into the light, the embellishments on her hat a mirror of Jazz's in a navy color. Her outfit had a very similar brocade jacket but it reached her ankles and hid her knees. She wore loose legged pants. The shoulder rankings were different, but the patch on the shoulder matched Flame's. She was navy blue with a lighter blue embroidery to Flame's dark red and orange.

The generals who hadn't spoken rose then saluted Ghost.

Ratchet could see Ghost's face had more, something powerful there.

Dignity, regality and experience. Her presence spoke of battles fought, either lost or won. Her scars looked like war scars.

The generals responded to it and she honored them back with a salute of her own before relaxing next to Maggie, standing on her abused leg as if nothing bothered her.

Ratchet scanned her as soon as the video finished, then sent a look to Elita One, "She'll be laid out from her knee. They'd see that as a weakness or a deception."

"Let them. She'll show them that the face they saw wasn't a mask. That is her without a facade," Elita One smirked, "All the femmes of Earth have removed their masks. I look forward to fighting beside them."

"NEST Alpha inbound," Beamrider announced.

"NEST?" Ratchet felt a frisson of fear.

Ghost must have heard it since she changed direction towards him.

Most who were injured avoided him unless they wanted immediate medical check over.

"Maggie argued that NEST should be reinstated in light of the information the CIA was burying. Show that at least one part of the government is faithful to humanity and more willing to be allies," Ghost stated calmly.

The pain on her face made him gently pick her up, "You should be off your feet for a while, Ghost."  
"I am, both figuratively and literally in your hands, Ratchet," Ghost smiled.

"Lover, love, ya needed in the meeting," Jazz called.

Ratchet shook his helm, "I am looking forward to the sparkling driving him insane."

"It may end up being him and the sparkling ganging up on you."

Rubbing his faceplates, Ratchet walked to the conference room.


	22. Chapter 22

Ghost mentally praised Maggie for the very comfortable reclining chairs for the human segment of the meeting room.

It eased the strain in her knee and hips.

However she was losing focus and wanted to sleep.

A week of meetings and looking formidable drained her on top of her knee crying out for relief.

The Cybertrionians sat in chairs Thoughtful Furies designed and built. So far, they had received glowing reviews from every mech and femme, including from Ultra Magnus.

Optimus looked slightly better with Ratchet's ministrations but needed a full paint to get him closer to presentable.

The revived Cybertronians looked glossy compared to the ones that hadn't.

Maggie walked into the human half of the conference room, escorting the renewed NEST organization.

The old faces were all back. Ghost could see and hear the welcome in Optimus and his team to them.

She was baffled why Maggie needed her there.

Maggie sat down, "To avoid politicians holding the reins on where the Autobots can and cannot live, the Furies will be the main liaison team between the Autobots and the other governments. The Autobots will base here and other locations with Fury teams. Since NEST worked well in the past, we want our best Furies to work with you. I'm assigning Ghost and her team as your point of contacts.

"We understand the fractures need to be repaired," the general replied calmly, "Hopefully this time no one can get between us. Politicians or traitors."

Ghost resisted asking why she was chosen. She had a good feeling it was due to her taking charge.

She discussed expectations and preferences they wanted kept from the their prior collaborations. She wrote down those they wanted improvements on.

NEST left.

Ghost sat with a head full of tasks to do.

Toolchest looked over at her, "You are regretting taking charge now, eh?"

Ghost shook her head, "No. That was the right thing to do. This is merely an extension of that, Toolchest."  
"Since we aren't a secret we probably need to return to our normal names," Toolchest snorted, "Which sucks. I like Toolchest."

Ghost shrugged, "That is up to you. I don't mind using my original name again."

"Mrs. Savoy?" Toolchest looked upset.

"That's not my name, not after he tossed me aside."

Toolchest looked baffled, "What is your real name, Ghost?"

"I returned to my maiden name, Janet Freeman," Ghost smiled, "I'm certainly ready for being more me than I have for several years."

Toolchest snorted, "Freeman, freedom. Much better than my last name. Hicks."

Dee and Dum covered their mouths then asked, "Like the wimpy guy in Aliens?"

"Don't remind me," Toolchest grumbled, "Everyone joked about him like I hadn't heard it a hundreds times."

"Why don't you all go take the day to decide which name or names you want to be known as. The media will take what you decide."

Beamrider stood, "I'll take the forms for starters. Make it easier for you, Ghost."

She bounced out, followed by the rest of her team.

"Ghost," Ratchet drew her gaze, "Surgery."

Sighing, she agreed, "Sooner the better."

She went with Ratchet to see what could be done to alleviate the pain.

* * *

Ratchet sighed after the surgery, glad to see Ghost, Janet Freeman, was on her way to recovery. She was being wheeled to observation.

Jazz fell into step with him, humming happily.

"Really Jazz?" Ratchet asked as the spy continued to hum.

"Ah'm alive, ah got meh lover and meh sparkling safe, and ah got meh love. Ah'm looking forward ta how long it takes with her."

"Humans don't live long, Jazz, and there is the Unicron sparkbeat to consider," Ratchet was reminded of both while working on her damaged knee.

"Ah could offline again tomorrow. Best to make use of the time ah have, lover. Unicron's sparkbeat is from the Cube since he infected it. It's subtle manipulations make meh efforts drops of rain. It didn't account for things with humans, lover. Mechs listen ta it's whispers, femmes don't. Femmes listen more ta creation and building energies from Primus' touch in the Cube. Even Ghost with her warrior ways, follow the build paths. With femmes in charge the mechs will forget Unicron's influences in a few generations," Jazz smirked, "Besides, ya don't know what Perceptor's been working on since ya parted ways."

"Jazz," letting him change topics, Ratchet could imagine a lot of terrible inventions. Especially as his primary lab partner was Wheeljack.

"Found a way ta make organics like us. Works best with carbon based lifeforms cause of the Seed," Jazz purred, "Ah think three earth years ta convince her ta make the jump. Wanna bet, lover."

Ratchet pulled Jazz to a stop next to an intersection, standing under the overhead bridge for the humans, "You need to tell her sooner than later, Jazz. Don't wait like you did with me."

"Ah don't intend ta, lover."

"Are you serious about letting her be first to see our sparkling and the implications?"

Jazz pulled him down, whispered in his audial, "When the sparkling is here, she'll be tangled in meh web with ya, lover. This child won't die on her. That's a promise from Primus."

"And if she dies on him?" Ratchet asked seriously.

"That's why ya are gonna ask Prime ta get our scientists here, lover. Cause ya don't want ta lose her either. Plus, imagine what Furies and our crew could do with collaboration? They made solar collectors from fragments. Get them planning together and Cybertron's Golden Age may be a long distant memory."

Jazz danced away, Ratchet trying to imagine such a wonderful utopia.

He gave in and walked to Optimus' office to discuss getting the scientists to Earth as soon as possible.

* * *

This is the end of this story. I set out to make female characters as strong and intriguing as those in NEST. I hope you enjoyed it and will set out looking for wonderful characters.


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